Shadow Company
by lostsword
Summary: You might have read about Gamma Company, Zulu Company and maybe even Raven Company. But now it's time for somehting new. It's time for Shadow Company.
1. Chapter 1: Selling A Deal

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 1: Selling A Deal_

**The Year is 2540. The vastly superior Covenant Fleet is ravishing the UNSC's Fleets and destroying planet after planet. Now, with no end in sight and no hope for a naval victory, the UNSC Naval Division Secretly Funds a Spartan Program, less then nine years after the Spartan III Alpha Company was created and three after Beta Company. Their goal? Destroy the Covenant one ship at a time.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO**

"Gentlemen" H.T. Ward said as he stood before the men, and woman, of the UNSC Naval Board. "We have a problem" he stated. "Every battle we fight with the covenant, we suffer huge, no..._massive_ casualties in space. Three to one, four to one, and for heaven's sake, ten to one?" he sighed. "We need to turn these odds around and win _both_ battles. The ground _and_ space" he said.

"And how" Full Admiral William Beck said crossing his hands together in front of him. "Do you propose we do this?" he asked.

Ward smiled. "Have you heard of Spartans?" he asked.

William, and most of the others in the room, sighed, shook their heads, cursed, or some other thing, and maybe did a combination of those things, at that. "You want to have us fund a Spartan program?" he asked, shocked. It was true that they didn't know everything about the Spartan program, but he, at least, knew that their funding would be huge. "Why not just ask ONI?" he said, spitting the name.

Ward looked as if he had been slapped. "Sir" he said. "I, though you may or may not look down upon me for this, do not care whether or not our ground side counter parts live or die, only that we win the war. If I went to ONI with this, they would just either reject it, or take it over as their own..." he said matter of factly. "No, I want to see our space combat won, and I propose we do that, with this..." he hit a button and the slide before them changed to that of a mug shot of a boy looking to be about seventeen, maybe a bit less.

"What...is this?" Rear Admiral Jackson Long asked.

"This, is the new face of warfare" Ward said. The display then changed to show the teen in a full body, rotating, picture with text next to it. " His name is Blake Lee, a descendant of the famous American General Robert E. Lee, he has a five year stay at Rock Edge Maximum Security Prison for Murder, Assaulting numerous officers of the law, collateral damage and smuggling." Ward said.

Admiral Beck eyed Ward as if he had gone crazy. "And what in the world does that have to do with Spartans?" he asked.

"Sir. Spartans are, I am sure by the armor they are seen wearing, very costly. And from what I have learned, they come from a rather exclusive gene pool. I propose that we take Earth's Bane and make it into a weapon. We take the largest, most available and easily acquired group of the smartest and hardest to kill people ever known to man kind" he said.

"And Who would that be?" Admiral Samantha Iris asked.

"Criminals ma'am. Criminals..."


	2. Chapter 2: Convicts

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 2: Convicts_

**A/N: Purple Rookie, Thank you for your input. I have corrected the problem and you may, if you wish, go back and reread the last part of chapter 1. If you still think it is unbelievable, leave me a review stating what you think. For those of you that are reading this and are NOT Purple Rookie, leave a review anyways.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO, ONLY SHADOW COMPANY AND WHATEVER ELSE I MAKE UP DURING THIS FIC. OH AND THE PLOT LINE, I OWN THAT TOO.**

Groaning, Blake woke up from the blissful darkness that he had been in ever since he had awoken back at Rock Edge, when a bunch of guys had knocked him out with some weird syringe that they had stuck in his arm.

Sitting up, he found he was now on a Pelican. _Great_, he thought._ I got kidnapped by the frigg'en UNSC_ he thought. Despite what most thought, he was unusually bright, maybe because his family line was nothing but Admirals, Captains, Generals and Majors. All bright, clean, crisp and to the point. And...boring.

Looking around, Blake figured he was either going to be executed or the UNSC had recruited him for something. There had to be another ten or so kids around his age in the hold with him. So what other reason would the goves break a convict out of jail? And since the other kids were all wearing some form of prison uniform, all prisoners, his theory only made more sense.

Sighing, he leaned back against the wall he had been sleeping against. Without the seats and everything, there was a lot of room in the bare hold. Suddenly he sensed something aimed at his head and caught the hand without looking.

"Dang. Someday, you should teach me how you do that" a disappointed, but amused voice said as a form plumped down next to him.

Grinning, Blake turned to see his long time friend, Jamie Cornerston, or as he preferred to be called, 'Eggnog' after a memorable occasion where they had robbed a grocery store on Christmas, then chugged eggnog until the other had thrown up, both laughing at the other the entire time. "Well. Now I know im going to be executed" he said with a laugh.

"Why's that?" Jamie said.

"Your here."

"Lovely."

"I know."

"I'm dying from the love im feeling right now"

"I hope so"

"We really gonna die?"

"Again, your here"

"No" Jamie said. This time his face was serious. "Really, are we really? Your smart. What do you think?" he asked.

Blake cocked his head for a second. "Don't know. I'm guessing we're going to join some black op, top secret program for criminal teenagers" he said.

Jamie just stared. Then he blinked. "What the heck have you been snorting!" he asked in a surprised voice.

Blake shrugged. He was used to people not believing him. Like his math teacher hadn't believed him when he had finished a ten page test in under three minutes, at ten and a half years old. He just lived with it. "The others on the ship" he said, indicating the sleeping teens around them. "Their all wearing uniforms, prisoner uniforms. And why would the government kidnap us other then something revolving around them?" he asked.

Jamie stared at him again. After ten minutes he moved, and by moved, he jumped up. "I got it!" he shouted as he finally registered what had been said to him.

Suddenly a shoe shot out of nowhere and nailed Jamie in the head, sending him to the ground. "Some of us are sleeping, so shut up!" a female voice yelled and Blake watched as a girl with black and pink dyed hair got off the shadowy floor of the hold and moved over to retrieve her shoe.

"Ow?" Jamie said as he stood up. "That wasn't that har-" her fist connected with his face the same time her foot slammed into his crotch. The boy then dropped to the ground, groaning and mumbling about stars.

"Better?" she asked, then kicked Jamie in the side, hard enough to make him groan again. "Now. Shut up." she said and then walked away, then shot a look at Blake. "By the way, my name's Amelia" she said, then dropped back to the ground slowly, almost making a show out of it, before rolling over as if to fall asleep.

"Why do the girls always crush my balls and flirt with you?" Jamie asked as he crawled over to Blake.

"Because your balls are doing the talking and your-"

"I get the picture..."


	3. Chapter 3: Offers

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 3: Offers_

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO. I ONLY OWN SHADOW COMPANY, THEIR ARMOR, THE PLOTLINE AND MY OC'S.**

Blake sighed. They had gotten off the pelican and as far as he could tell, were on some tropical planet. They had been moved off the runway by men in UNSC SWAT armor and moved off into a air conditioned building that was made of white and black stone, which in turn led them into a cafeteria with a stage in the back. Currently, he and the other nine teens that had been on their pelican were sitting at one of three large rectangular tables. The other two were empty, however they were not allowed to sit there.

"How much longer?" Jamie asked.

"How should I know?" Blake asked.

"Bec-"

Suddenly the doors that led in and out of the cafeteria opened and a group of ten more teens walked in, being escorted by more men in SWAT armor. However Blake felt his body tense when he saw one of the teens in the group. "Crap..." he muttered.

"What?" Jamie asked.

"She's here" Blake said calmly, but Jamie managed to catch the glimpse of uncertainty under it.

"Who?"

"Alexandra..."

"WHAT!" Jamie yelled, only for Amelia, who was obviously not a morning person, to growl. "What?" he said much, _much_ quieter.

"I-"

"Attention" a man said, who was now standing on stage. Blake also noticed that the other two tables were now full as well. He then examined the man talking. He was wearing a Admiral's uniform, and had lots of campaign ribbons and medals pinned on it. "I would like your attention" he said, but the room still seemed to be in a uproar. He nodded to one of the men in SWAT armor, though he had no helmet. He had pale skin, he was bald and had a almost Russian look to him and everything about him screamed NBDM or Naval Boarding and Defending Marine.

The man nodded back, raised his automatic weapon and let loose a hail of bullets into the roof. The room became tomb silent in milliseconds. "Show the Admiral respect or I will teach it to you!" the man barked.

_Nope. Definitively a NBDM Drill Instructor. The worst combination in the hist...well, maybe that would be a ODST drill instructor...but what about a-_ Blake was broken out of his inner thoughts as the Admiral continued again.

"Thank you for your time" he said, though it was obvious he wasn't grateful. And they weren't offering their time. "My name, is H.T. Ward" he added and Blake froze. _Ward? As in Admiral Ward? Ah im in for it now..._ "And That" he said, indicating the man that had shot his gun. "Is Captain Viacheslav Vasiliev" he said. "He will be your main drill instructor while you stay here with us-"

"What's going on here!" a teen shouted. _Idiot_, Blake thought.

Immediately the Captain moved over and grabbed the surprised teen by the neck of his prison uniform, had dragged him over to the stage and smashed his face into it, causing it to bleed in several places. "Now say your sorry" the man said, completely serious. The teen looked at him like he was speaking a different language. The captain smashed his face into the stage's edge twice more. "Say it" he barked.

"I-I'm S-sorry!" the kid shouted. The captain nodded, then tossed him across the floor.

"This ain't playtime kiddos!" he shouted, definitively with a Russian accent. "You respect the best" he stated. The kid nodded and scrambled back to his table.

The Admiral nodded once more. "Now that you have learned your first lesson here at Varjuga Elu" he said. And Blake rolled his eyes, _Estonian for Shadowed Life. How appropriate..._ "we shall move on to business" the Admiral continued. "I could say, you have been called upon to serve. Or I could play the old hatred of the Covenant card. But no" he paused. "The truth, ladies and gentlemen, even if you are not worthy of that title, is that the Covenant are winning every battle in space they fight us in. and if we do win any such battle, it is at a horrible cost to us" he eyed the teens before him.

"You may ask, how does this concern you? Well. What happens when the UNSC is gone? What happens when it's just you and the covenant hmm?" he asked and the entire room was silent. "You think your living life by breaking the law? What happens when there is no law? I'll tell you. You will loose your sense of purpose, you will wander around trying to find what is missing and then, the covenant will come and kill you" he waited a few minutes, no one spoke a word. "I ask you this. Do you want to die in a cell of old age or plasma, maybe even bullet. Or do you want to die with the blood of thousands of alien freaks on your hands? I will give you the best technology, weapons and best of all, a license to kill. And I don't just mean kill like the old movies show it, but kill. I mean utter _destruction_. I want you all to cause so much damage, destruction and death, that the highest and most mighty covenant will _cower_ at the thought of attacking us _ever_ again" once more he paused.

"Every speech. Every one. Ever used on a group of people that don't want to fight, has been inspiring" he said, sounding tired. "But you people don't want inspiration. You want to be free. Well this is what I offer you." he said, this time slightly louder. "If you help us end this war. If you fight. Then all your past crimes will be erased. So tell me, do you want a cell? Or a chance to fight?" he asked.

"I See all of you and I see a room full of people without purpose. I plan to give you one" he promised. "Those of you that don't want to fight. You may walk out that door, and you will never remember this ever happened" he stated.

No one moved. The Admiral smiled. "Good. Captain." he said.

Captain Vasiliev nodded. "Drill Instructors!" he shouted.

_What?_, Blake though, and before he could turn around, something heavy hit him in the back of the head and he blacked out.


	4. Chapter 4: Boot Part 1

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 4: Boot_

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO. I ONLY OWN SHADOW COMPANY, THE PLOTLINE, THEIR ARMOR, AND MY OC'S. I ALSO DO NOT OWN ENDER'S GAME.**

_**UNSC NAVAL TRAINING GROUND, BASE A-47, SC-GT Barracks**_

_**5/8/2540, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**0500, Military Standard Time**_

The black stairs that had covered his vision flashed and then faded away and Blake now found himself laying on a military issue bunk. Glancing around, he found he was in a bunk house with nine other beds set in it, five on one end of the room and five on the other. Oh, and there was a loud buzzing sound which caused the numb pain in his head to flare up again. After a few seconds the loud buzzing sound stopped and Blake uncovered his head from his pillow, glaring at the ceiling.

"Ugh...what happened?" Jamie asked two bunks down, his hands covering his throbbing head as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Blake shrugged as he tried to tune out the pain that was flaring in his head. "Don't know...probably knocked us out with those darn guns" he said as he slowly sat up, using the bed's metal back for support as he noticed a few other people slowly wake up and clutch their heads and groan as well.

"What the hek?" someone said and Blake saw a teen around fifteen groan and sit up in the same fashion as Blake, his greasy blond hair falling around his eyes as he dropped his head for a second into his hands. "This is the last time I ever say 'Yes' to anything" the convict muttered.

"Anything?" a sultry voice said a voice from a bunk next to Blake. He, along with the rest of the conscious male population in the room turned to find Amelia leaning against her bed's back support with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Don't get your hopes up" she said, her voice now once more the cold, seemingly always ticked off voice she had always had.

"Your loss" the kid said with the blond hair as he lowered himself down onto his bunk again.

"I'll take my chances" Amelia said with a roll of her eyes. "So Blake..." she said, eying the boy from across the room. "What corner of the galaxy did they drag you out of?" she asked, a bit of slyness and coyness mixed together at the end.

"Kazakhstan, Earth" he said simply as he mimicked her and leaned against his bed's back support, the metal rods creaking slightly.

"That's a mouthful" she said suggestively. "I'm from Rotto IV" she said. "Three year stay at Vastion, two at Tosan" she added.

Blake nodded. "I heard of Vastion" he said. "Their a pretty bad place. How'd you get in there?" he asked.

"The gang I had been hanging around back then convinced me to rob this bank with them, the police showed up, we ran, accidentally killed a few cops, stole a pelican and ended up crashing into a hospital...so yeah..." she said, and Blake was pretty sure he caught a flicker of guilt for a second.

"Well...i guess that's one way to get into jail..." Blake said.

"So, what's your story?" She asked.

Blake shrugged. "Nothing special" he assured.

"Yeah, because all of us here are 'Nothing Special" she said with a short smile. "Now what did you do?" she asked.

"Blew up a drug store, killed a few officers when I tried to run, got arrested, broke some guy's jaw and that's it" Blake said at last.

"Sounds like more then 'Nothing Special" someone said on the other side of Blake's bunk. Turning over, he found another boy, with light, dusty brown hair and silver eyes laying on his own bunk, looking as if he wasn't feeling lots of pain in the head.

"And you are?" Blake asked.

"Matt" the guy said. "Matt Damion, three year prisoner of London's Maximum Security Prison for bombing multiple police stations, murdering officers of the law, resisting arrest, continues acts against British and UEG governments, yada, yada, yada..." he said with a yawn. "I'm the guy that put BOHICA into practice" he added with a bit of pride.

Blake rolled his eyes. This guy was definitely a show off. He then spun around as a loud bang echoed across the room. Suddenly the captain from earlier walked in, Via...Something.

"Recruits!" the man barked out as he stood before the ten somewhat awake convicts. "You will find showers in the back of this building and clothing containers under your bunks. You are to shower, dress in clean clothes and be outside this complex at 0530. That leaves you with less then a half hour, so move!" he barked and aimed his rifle at the roof, letting loose a burst of stun rounds into the concrete above him.

Groaning, now fully awake, the ten teenage convicts stumbled out of their bunks, stripped naked and ran for the showers, taking a small pleasure in the icy cold water and relaxing soap before drying off, running back to their bunks.

Blake quickly pulled out his clothing container, which was an identical metal box like all the other containers under every bunk in the room. On the front, right over the latch, was Blake J. Lee, SC-020. Ignoring this however, he popped the trunk open and pulled out a gray and silver jumpsuit that had his name and the same number printed on the front, and quickly changed into it.

At exactly 0529, all of the ten teens were stumbling out of the building in a slight daze as Captain Vasiliev stood there, watching them with disgust. "Recruits, form into single file, now!" he barked and Blake and the others formed a sad excuse of a line. "This is sloppy!" he shouted as he fired a burst into the air once more, sending his 'Recruits' into a faster pace as they hurriedly formed a better line, this time straighter.

"That is _much_ better" he said and walked up and down before them, inspecting their stance and correcting them with his battered assault rifle's butt. Once he was satisfied, he moved back to stand before the entire group. "I am here to give you a rundown on what to expect from now on" he said.

"Every day, at 0500 you shall be awoken, and by 0530 you should be assembled outside, ready for inspection. At 0600 you shall receive breakfast. At 0630 you shall commence your training. That is all" he said, then inhaled. "Now march!" he barked and began to head down a gravel trail towards the building they knew to be the cafeteria. Without being told twice, they followed in their line.

"A heck of a wake up call eh?" Matt said from behind Blake.

The black haired teen couldn't agree more. Glancing around, he noticed two more buildings off near the woods, just like their own building. He also saw a handful of other buildings near the cafeteria, as well as a huge lake at the far end of the base they were on.

He also noticed two other groups being led towards the cafeteria as well. Noticing one such person in particular, Blake groaned. "Today just isn't my day" he muttered.


	5. Chapter 5: Boot Part 2

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 5: Boot Part 2_

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO OR IT'S PRODUCTS. I HOWEVER OWN SHADOW COMPANY, MY OC'S, SOME OF THEIR EQUITMENT, THE PLOT, WHATEVER ELSE I MADE UP THAT WAS NEVER IN THE OFFICIAL HALO SERIES.**

_**UNSC NAVAL TRAINING GROUND, BASE A-47, UNSC Cafeteria**_

_**5/8/2540, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**0600, Military Standard Time**_

Blake sighed as he finally sat down. They had been led into the cafeteria, then sent trough a line and given a tray, then food and some water, and then sent back towards the table they had been at the night before, with orders not to go near the other two tables in the near empty room.

Glancing down, he figured what sat there was some type of meat, mash potatoes, corn and bread. Sighing once more, he gulped down some of the water in the bottle they had given him, then began to chow down.

"Is this chicken, or shaved rat?" Jamie asked as he sat next to Blake, his eyes looking at the food on his own tray.

Blake just shrugged and continued to eat. Whatever it was, it was good.

"Looks like old steak to me" the voice of Amelia said as she sat down across from Blake. She eyed the food warily, then began to eat as well.

"Everything looks like steak after awhile" a voice said and Blake swore Amelia groaned under her breath as Matt sat on Blake's other side.

"Can someone tell me when I put a 'Come Over Here and Talk To Me' sign on my back?" Blake asked in annoyance as he stopped eating at last. He didn't consider himself anti-social, but he had limits, and those limits where about three or less people when he was in a bad mood. And he was usually in a bad mood.

"About the time we woke up on the pelican" Amelia said sarcastically as she finished her corn and moved on to her bread, nibbling on it.

Blake just huffed and finished his chicken...steak...whatever it was, and advacned on to his mashed potatoes. "So Amelia..." Jamie said slowly.

"No." was the calm and stern reply from the female as she took a slightly bigger bite out of her biscuit.

"What? You don't even know what I was-"

"You wanted to ask me out. No." she said simply and finished the biscuit and leaned back into her chair.

"Gonna eat your-" Amelia had already pushed her tray over to Matt, the only remaining bit of food was the untouched mashed potatoes. "...um, thanks."

"You didn't even think about it!" Jamie said, almost whining.

"Do you want to kill him, or can I?" Blake asked Amelia in annoyance as he finished his meal and leaned back as well. Ever since he had seen Alexandra was still here, he had been on edge. And he was easily irritated when he was like that.

Amelia shrugged as she balanced her metal chair on one leg. Blake cracked his knuckles. "Why?" was all Jamie could mutter to himself before Blake sucker punched him right in the face, sending him right out of his chair and onto the floor.

Now somewhat less annoyed, Blake resumed leaning against his chair. Amelia, deciding that leaving him alone for now was the smart move, turned to the teen next to her. SC-017 Issac Bolto was stamped onto his jumpsuit. "So where did they drag you from?" she asked.

"New Barbados Maximum Security Prison" Issac said simply. "A Three and a Two year stay" he said with a smile. "You want a bomb, not one out there I can't get" he said with a smile.

"Is everyone here but me a bomb artist?" Amelia asked in exasperation. Honestly, the amount of people that had something to do with bombs, but then again they were all from some sort of prison.

"Probably" the girl on her other side said, on her jumpsuit SC-028 Jessica Gand was stamped. "There are mostly guys here after all" she said in a bored, almost sarcastic, tone. "And immature explosions go hand and hand with guys" she added slyly while raising her eyes suggestively, causing Amelia to snicker, Jamie to stutter and Blake to roll his eyes.

Matt glared. "I doubt _I_ would be the one doing the immature explosions sweetheart" he said with a dangerous, yet challenging tone.

"_Sure_" Jessica said with a roll of the eyes, mimicking Blake.

"You just don't appreciate the things explosions can do to your life" Issac said, as if he were insulted.

"The only thing I appreciate, is a good gun, lots of ammo and a few hundred of those aliens lined up on a shooting range" Jessica said. "That and a cigarette..." she added after a second of thought.

"No luck there" Jamie said. "This place-"

"Recruits!" a voice boomed and the thirty teenage convicts in the room turned their heads to find Captain Vasiliev and about two dozen more DI's standing before the double doors that led back outside. "It is time for your training to commence, and with my favorite, PT!" he shouted, getting groans from a few of the teens in the room. "If you do not wish to do PT..." he said slowly with his Russian accent coming out strongly. "...Then you may accompany Lieutenant Soncar and test the orbital drop pods!" he shouted, causing the entire room to become silent, those that had been groaning were now pale and stiff as they prayed to not be noticed. "Good, now march!" he shouted and as if he had to do it every time he saw them, fired his gun in the air, sending about a dozen rubber rounds into the ceiling as the thirty teenagers formed into their lines and quickly made their way outside.


	6. Chapter 6: Boot Part 3

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 6: Boot Part 3_

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO OR IT'S PRODUCTS. I ONLY OWN SHADOW COMPANY, IT'S PLOT LINE, MY OC'S AND WHAT EVER I, PERSONALLY, MADE UP WHILE WRITING/PLANNING/UPLOADING THIS FIC. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, NOW PLEASE REVIEW AND READ ON, THEN REVIEW AGAIN!**

_**UNSC NAVAL TRAINING GROUND, BASE A-47, PT Course**_

_**5/8/2540, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**0630, Military Standard Time**_

"Alright Recruits!" Captain Vasiliev shouted as they finished their run through the woods and came before a huge course. There were mud pits, rope climbs, wall climbs, razor wire and even live, motion targeting, machine guns set up above a few of the crawls. "You will form up in your respective groups!" he ordered. "Green Team will go first!" he barked. When no one moved, he fired his gun in the air, causing every eye to turn to him, instead of the ground. He then began to shout out names, rapid fire.

"Blake Lee, Jamie Cornerston, Matt Damion, Amelia Quint..." the list went on and Blake quickly realized that everyone in their bunk room, the group they had been in since waking up in the pelican, had been on the list. _So that's it huh? Each group has to be team..._

He was broken out of his thoughts as he heard a loud whistle and saw the rest of the group he had been with, which was now being called Red Team, run towards the first part of the course, a huge mud pit that stretched twenty feet long, razor wire running over it while a pair of automated machine guns fired over the crawl, and they _weren't_ using stun rounds...

Finally his brain made the click and with a short thought as to _why_ he had picked this over prison, Blake ran forward and into the mud with the others.

/

_**UNSC NAVAL TRAINING GROUND, BASE A-47, PT Course**_

_**5/8/2540, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**0730, Military Standard Time**_

An hour later and Blake made his way out of the final mud pit of the course, for the sixth time. Behind him, the rest of Green Team stumbled out with him, groaning and cursing as they dropped onto the dirt floor of the forest floor as they were given canteens by some of the DI's. A few moments later and Red Team came out of the course as well, followed by Blue a few more moments later.

Blake had gone through, and done, a lot of tough stuff in his lifetime, but that past hour had to have been the hardest thing he had _ever_ done. Six laps around a huge, painfully slow, course that a friggen _ODST_ would have had trouble with, while being shot at by the DI's with stun rounds, timed and crawling under razor wire and _live_ bullets that came so close that he could _feel_ them fly over his scalp by a centimeter, had drained him of most of his strength. What really made him rethink life however, was the fact that Matt seemed barely out of breath. Granted he was tired, but he was much, much less tired then the rest of them.

"Alright Recruits!" Vasiliev said with a wicked smile, causing Blake to believe the rumor that all UNSC drill instructors were crazy. "Now we do push ups" he said.

When dozens of complaints and groans came out, a DI was instantly on him, beating him down mercilessly with the shock baton before moving away. Vasiliev stared at them, as if they were complaining about the sun being out or something else ridiculous. "If you prefer to not partake in your training, Lieutenant Soncar-" he stopped as everyone quit complaining and began to get ready to do the 'Requested' Pushups. After all, who would want to 'Test' ODST drop pods?

"Good, now begin!" he shouted and began counting off as he himself did them with the three groups. A bit later, they preformed sit ups, then leg crunches and pull ups and other exercises, using the trees around them in the place of equipment that they did not have at the moment.

By the time they were done, Blake felt as if his body was burning. He could barely move and was close to passing out when a DI came near him and injected him with some weird fluid in a syringe. A few minutes later and he felt his body relax, his muscles stopped burning and the exhaustion went away.

"Recruits!" Vasiliev barked after they had all been given a adrenaline shot. A few groans came out, and as usual, DI's attacked those that complained. "Move out!" he shouted as soon as those that had complained had been dealt with.

Holding in a groan for his own sake, Blake formed up in the line his group was apart of as they began to march down the gravel road. By the time the sun was nearly all the way in the air, they had reached a medium sized building with the words 'Naval Academy' set in black marble on the side of the building, near the double doors. "Now" the Russian Captain said. "Proceed inside and await further orders!" he barked.

/

_**UNSC NAVAL TRAINING GROUNDS, BASE A-47, Naval Academy**_

_**5/11/2540, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1000 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

Blake sighed as he sank into a chair next to Jamie. The building, as it turned out, was just one big room. The setup was basically three long rows of ten before a desk with a massive display board behind it. Kind of reminding Blake of his old school room before they arrested him...again.

As the rest of the initiates into the 'Program' took their seats, a sort of trumpet could be heard and there was a chuckle, seeming everywhere, yet nowhere, all at once. "Good day class, good day. Did you enjoy your physical exercises?" a voice asked as a man appeared before them. He was garbed in a silver set of ancient knights armor, with a old sword strapped to his side and a odd metal shield set before him like a podium as he rested his hands on it, which were gauntleted. He had graying black hair and a black beard circled around his mouth. However his eyes were a electric green, with bits of data running across them?

Ignoring the many insults directed at him for that, the man spoke up again. "I am AI-4325235C. But you may call me Daniel, or Lord Daniel while you are studying here" he said. "I am instructed to teach you the value of naval combat" he continued as a small island appeared behind him on the display board.

"Long before Earth had developed the Shaw-Fujikawa drives, when there was still multiple countries on Earth instead of one government, a war was going on known as World War II" Daniel said. "During this war, the nation known as the Japanese Empire was engaging the outclassed United States of America Navy, winning dozens of victories. However" he paused, then continued. "The American Navy, in one single battle, a naval battle, destroyed the Empire's fleet and left them limping along throughout the rest of the war." he said and the map showed a red fleet near the island, with blue dots flying off the island at the same time as blue dots flew off a blue fleet nearby. "By tricking their superior enemies and using cunning and surprise, the Americans were able to damage their opponents irreparably" he finished as the red fleet was annihilated and whatever was left, retreated.

Blake watched it all, fascinated. They could do that much damage? Was that what they were being trained for? Destroying the Covenant's fleets? The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. A Admiral leading all of this. NBDM DI's all over the place and a Naval Academy, along with a Naval AI, it made sense all right. But did he want to take on a friggen covenant ship? Those things destroyed worlds, how was he going to destroy one?

As he delved into this, class passed on and they were given a basic lunch, which was just water and a sandwich, then they were sent back outside, where Captain Vasiliev and his DI's were waiting.

**All I have to say is this. REVIEW!**

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	7. Chapter 7: Boot Part 4

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 7: Boot Part 4_

**A/N:Ok, I have noticed I have been getting a very low number of reviews. Before I rant, thanks to those that DID review, and now my rant. REVIEW! REVIEW OR I STOP UPDATING! REVIEW!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO**

_**UNSC NAVAL TRAINING GROUNDS, BASE A-47, HUNTER Building**_

_**5/11/2540, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1330 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

Blake shifted uncomfortably as they finally stopped before a huge building. They had exited the Naval Academy just a half hour ago, and right into the jaws of Vasiliev and his DI's. The drill instructor had then sent them on yet _another_ run across the compound, through the woods and then over a bridge and through the woods again before they came to a clearing, where they stopped at the building they were now facing.

It was huge. By far it had to be the largest building on the entire planet that he had seen so far. It stretched the entire clearing, which was easily two or three hundred yards, long and was about ten or twelve stories tall. It had an odd shape, almost like a star ship or space station, with what appeared to be windows and airlocks all around it with catwalks and other things set up, though it still seemed very plain. Other then the huge metal airlock with a giant green square pained over it.

"Green Team will move to their gate!" Vasiliev barked and the mentioned team moved off towards the gate. "Red and Blue Teams" he said as the other two groups began to stop walking. "You will proceed to your sides of the facility, follow these DI's to your gate, double time it!" he barked and the two other groups ran with the DI's as Vasiliev walked towards the airlock looking door, Green Team following him.

"Green Team!" the captain shouted as he walked towards the door. He then turned around and faced them. "When you hear the whistle, you shall enter that door, you shall find a locker with your name on it" he said, gesturing at the door behind him. " you shall suit up, load up and for your lives sake, you better not screw up" said.

The Green team recruits waited for less then two minutes before the whistle went off and Vasiliev started barking at them. "You have three minutes, GO! GO! GO! MOVE YOUR HINDQUARTERS! MOVE IT! MOVE IT! MOVE IT!" he shouted as he fired his stun round loaded assault rifle into the air, his favorite, and seemingly only way, of getting the recruits to do what he wanted.

Sprinting ahead of the rest, Blake quickly entered the room behind the blast door, which had opened just as the whistle went off. Inside was another, completely steel, room and another door. On either side of the door were metal lockers that went from the floor toe the roof and were about as wide as he was. Moving as fast as he could, he grasped the metal knob on the locker and yanked the metal panel open and examined the contents inside

There was a folded green jumpsuit, a pair of gloves, and a pair of dark boots on the bottom of the locker. However at the top of the locker there was a set of black armor that looked like it would fit him snugly.

Pulling it out, he found that the armor would cover his chest, back, knees, shoulders, and elbows. Quickly, he set the armor down, remembering the time, and stripped off his clothes, slipped into his new jumpsuit and began to put on the armor. About halfway through, a siren blared and a voice, most likely someone back at the main compound, spoke up.

"Attention. Attention Green, Red and Blue Teams. You will hopefully have your armor on by now. You will _also_ hopefully have your weapons locked and loaded. Once this is done, you will turn on your helmets and receive your orders. Be warned, your blast door seals in one minute, any who are still inside after the door seals will miss dinner" the voice said and then the com shut off.

Moving with a new sense of purpose, Blake and the others quickly finished putting on the armor in record time and then began to search for weapons. They soon found them. In the bottom of the lockers, in a small storage unit under their jumpsuits, there was a MA5B Assault Rifle, a M6D pistol and a bandolier of grenades. The weapons all looked real, except the grenades had buttons on them instead of pins. But they still felt...too _light_.

Below the guns were at least a dozen clips of ammo for the MA5B and about half that for the M6D, as well as a battle webbing that would hold all of the stuff over their armor.

Suddenly a second siren sounded and Blake quickly slid the harness on and began to place clips in their slots and sticking the pistol in the holster that it had been inside when he had picked it up. By the time he was done, there was just enough time to jump out of the door as it sealed shut, sadly, not everyone had made it.

Three hadn't made it. He, Jamie, Amelia, Matt, Issac, and two others he didn't know yet. That meant that Jessica, Oliver and one other hadn't made it. Suppressing a few choices words, Blake did as he had been told and looked for a switch on his armor. He eventually found it on the back of his armor. "Everybody help each other turn on our suits" he said, not knowing why he had decided to take charge. Maybe because nobody else was. Whatever the reason, the remaining seven members of their 'Team' were taking turns hitting the switch on the back of their black armor, which had green targets on the shoulder, chest and back plates, as well as the helmet on the front and back, with two smaller targets on either side of the helmet.

Once he turned on Amelia's she did the same for him and suddenly a small visor shot down over his eyes and a message scrolled down in front of him.

**/GREEN TEAM UNIFORM IDENTITY CHECK COMPLETE. GREEN 01 TRANSPONDER RECOGNIZED AND RECEIVED. ORDERS: GREEN TEAM IS TO MOVE UP TO DECK FOUR AND SECURE COMMAND DECK FROM ENEMY FORCES. LASER WEAPONS WILL ACTIVATE IN FIVE SECONDS\\**

Blake read it all as it flashed before his eyes. And as the little device had said, er, written, the guns began to hum for a second after the time ran up, then they returned to their normal, silent..ness.

"What the?" Jamie asked and hit his gun. "I think my-" he stopped as he accidentally pulled the trigger and a three round burst shot out of the weapon, but instead of bullets slamming into the metal hallway's wall, there was a trio of green laser bolts.

"HOLY!" Matt shouted as he glanced at his own gun.

"The guns are lasers idiot" someone said, one of the two he didn't know. "Just like the ones back on Earth and the colonies, toy guns basically, but the armor locks up. This is just a more 'Military' version" he said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"And you are?" Blake asked, he didn't remember talking to him. The dude had blondish hair, which looked as if it had once been brown, but had either been died or the color grew out, with tan colored pupils and a football player's build. He may have met him once in Rock Edge...

"Names Cole" he said. "Cole Rails" he added. "And your the infamous Blake Lee from Rock Edge" he said knowingly. "But anyways, shouldn't we talk about our lives _later_ and not while the other team is about to secure _our_ objective?" he asked with a small grin.

Blake nodded. "Ok, everybody let's move" he said, still wondering where this new found leadership thing was coming from. But then again, he had been leading teens around in his old group before they arrested him...so who knew? Maybe he had always had it and never noticed. Maybe not. All that really mattered was that he was about to get a _huge_ chance to take out all his anger on something that actually _breathed_ and he could get away scott free.

"Hey can I go on ahead?" A voice said in his ear, Blake instantly realized that they had com units built into their helmets, this was just getting cooler and cooler. Then he realized that it was Cole again.

"Um..sure?" Blake said as he saw Cole, with Jamie and Issac run down the hallway they were moving up through.

"Hey Blake" Matt said with a bit of glee in his voice. "Check this stuff out. These little visor's got a map, com lines and all kinds of fun toys filled in here" he said, obviously enjoying this 'Game' as much as Blake was. After all, even if they were delinquents, who _wouldn't_ want to play a nearly real life war game, with no fear of death?

"Can you find a way to the command deck?" he asked. A second later and Matt answered him.

"Yup" was the reply. "If we keep going, then all we gotta do it take a elevator up and then we're in the room!" he said as he continued to mess around with his visor as they walked. Suddenly a blue arrow appeared on Blake's visor, a small set of numbers next to it which grew smaller as they got closer. "Coool" was Matt's reply. "Way points...imagine if we had _this_ stuff during a breakout?" he asked.

Blake could only grin at that image.

/

_**UNSC NAVAL TRAINING GROUNDS, BASE A-47, HUNTER Building, Command Deck**_

_**5/11/2540, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1400 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

Mac Peppers growled to himself as he watched his group, dubbed 'Red Team' by the insane DI's of this stupid base. He still didn't like the fact that he had _actually_ agreed to this. But the manly part of him had told him not to wimp out, and now he was rul...leading, a group of nine other teens, and they were _winning_. Winning had always felt good to the Italian.

"Are those _surprises_ ready for those morons below us?" Mac asked Jake Watnox, who had found a box full of explosives, non-lethal, laser explosives of course, in a box near the command deck. They had already taken the liberty of setting them up. Now, in a few more seconds, they would get to see if it was worth the dang trouble it took to set up...

/

_**UNSC NAVAL TRAINING GROUNDS, BASE A-47, HUNTER Building, Medical Deck**_

_**5/11/2540, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1400 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

Blake watched in slight edginess as Matt hit the button to summon the elevator, which would take them to the Command Deck, their objective. He had survived the streets and life in general by trusting his instincts, and his instincts were flaring a big red warning light right now. But the problem was that this was their _only_ way to the command deck. Seconds ticked away on the small clock on his visor as they waited, until finally it dinged.

Matt grinned as the doors opened and stepped inside, seeming fine. "See I told you-" his voice was cut of as a loud TING! Went off and suddenly the entire chamber became a bright light, seconds later and Jamie and Issac, who had been the closest to the door, were engulfed in the light as the rest of their group dove for cover, which was only the ground at the moment.

"Bloody bloody heck!" Blake shouted as he slammed his fist on the metal floor. He stood up a few seconds later, after he was sure the blast was gone and he wasn't out of the game yet, if you could call it a game anymore. Walking over, he found Jamie and Issac both groaning and grumbling as their armor was locked solid, they couldn't even move a muscle.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Blake peeked inside the elevator and found Matt laying on the floor, a bit of blood dripping from his chin from the impact that the dozen small claymores had given him. "You ok?" Blake asked as he glanced at the locked armor, that had to have hurt.

Matt nodded a bit. "Yeah..." he said, though he had trouble with the armor lock sticking into his neck a bit at the angle he was currently laying at. "That hurt like a real bugger" he muttered. His eyes fell and Blake turned to see what he was staring at. To his dismay, it appeared the elevator had been sabotaged, the vator controls no longer seemed to work, judging by the sparks flying off the thing's control panel. "Well crap..." Matt mumbled as he lay on the ground, still in a bit of a daze.

Blake nodded. "Ok...you stay here" he muttered and walked back outside as Matt grumbled about something as the rest of their 'Team' began to wonder what to do now.

"Anybody got any ideas?" Blake asked. Matt had been the one who had known how to get the map to work, but they could fix that easy. What was really the problem was that they had four remaining people on their team, and they still had to face off with a _full_ team, who were probably fresh and ready. And there was still the possibility of both the other-

Blake was broken out of his thoughts by Cole, who seemed to have found something. "There's another way" he said in surprise as he toyed with his visor. "Right over...here" he said and opened a normal looking metal door, which had been thought to lead into a medical suite, like the dozen others they had looked into. They moved over to the normal looking door and opened it, revealing a small square room with a ladder In the center. "It's a maintenance tunnel, off the normal maps, had to hack a bit...but..." he stopped as his eyes read the data before him.

"What?" Amelia asked as they watched him mutter to himself to softly to hear as the only other survivor walked up to join in their confusion, the side of his armor had GT-07 printed on his shoulder guards.

Bringing up his visor, Blake checked the roster and found his name was Jess Rezon. "Guys!" Cole said in a _utterly_ joyful tone. "This hatch leads right up to a hatch in the command deck, _behind_ the elevator!" he said happily as he started to climb the metal ladder in the small maintenance room. "This will lead us right behind them!" he continued as they began to climb with him.

Minutes later and they were at the top of the shaft and had slowly, with Jess and Amelia covering Blake and Cole, opened the door and found that Cole was right. They were _exactly_ right behind Red Team, who were hunkered down behind the consoles and terminals that resembled the data pics that Blake had once seen of a UNSC naval bridge.

Cole eagerly raised his MA5B, intent on gunning them from behind. Blake's hand snapped forward and pulled the gun down before he could fire. "No" he growled quietly as he pulled something from his battle webbing and tossed it up into the air, showing the entire group his plan. They then quickly mimicked him.

"Ready?" he asked. They nodded and he silently prayed this would work. He held up three fingers. The Red Team recruits were getting a bit worried, there hadn't been a sign of the Greenies yet. Two fingers. One of the Red recruits yawned. One finger.

The red recruit turned around to hit on the red armored girl behind him, his eyes widened considerably as he saw the door open, and what was inside. No fingers. There was a simultaneous CLICK sound as all four of them tossed a now live grenade into the command deck just as the recruit screamed out "GREEN-!" and then there was a loud BOOM!

Before the remaining reds could even figure out what had just hit them, Cole was out there with Jess and the two quickly shot every single red they saw. Blake noted, with a bit of surprise, that the guns acted like real guns. They had a automatic retort and they even had the same gunshot sound, the only difference was that the digital ammo clip was technically out of one more 'bullet'.

Sighing, Blake looked around and smirked. They had won. And it felt great. He then accessed the visor and spoke the word on the display to inform the operators that they had won. A second later and another message appeared on his visor.

**/GREEN TEAM UNIFORM IDENTITY CHECK COMPLETE. GREEN 01 TRANSPONDER RECOGNIZED AND RECEIVED. ORDERS: PROCEED TO DECK 2 AND REPEL SABOTURES FROM PLANTING CHARGES ON ENGINES\\**

Blake just groaned. This was going to be a LONG day.

/

_**UNSC NAVAL TRAINING GROUNDS, BASE A-47, HUNTER Building, ENGINE ROOM**_

_**5/11/2540, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1600 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

"Are you in position?" Blake whispered over the radio as he got into position.

"What do you bloody think?" was Cole's reply, well past aggravated at all the work they were doing for a 'Stupid game.'

"Sorry" Blake said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. "Amelia? You?" he asked.

"Yup, i'm here" she said. "After dinner, how about you an-"

Blake just switched to Jess' com frequency. To maximize the chance that Blue Team didn't learn about all of their plans if one of the frequencies were found, each person had a different com channel. "Jess. You set?" he asked.

"Yes" came the neutral, nearly death silent, whisper from the teen.

Nodding, Blake set his own MA5B up against the metal of the box he was hiding behind. "Ok." he said over the main team com. If they were caught now, oh well. "On my mark" he muttered as he aimed the gun at the closest Blue recruit. "Mark" he whispered and the air was filled with the sounds of gun fire, laser bolts hitting black and blue armored forms and the return fire aimed at the black and green armored forms who were spread out all around them.

Blake had to give them credit, they did pretty good, but pretty good wasn't best, and best meant alive. And those poor chaps were anything but alive. Well, at least 'Technically' they weren't.

"Good work Green Team" Captain Vasiliev's loud voice boomed over the com. "You may proceed to your gate and await the rest of your team" he said. "It is time for prizes!"

Blake just took off his helmet and thanked god's green earth that the dang game was finally over.

/

**Ok, I hope you liked it. Now go and REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8: Prizes

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 8: Prizes_

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO**

_**UNSC NAVAL TRAINING GROUNDS, BASE A-47, HUNTER Building, Command Deck**_

_**5/11/2540, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1600 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

Blake watched as the twenty two other recruits in this crazy program came in and sat down at their tables. There were seven missing, and with a sad reason too. Three of their own had fallen under the 'Be-Out-Of-Your-Gate-On-Time' Penalty and two from Red and two from Blue, thus leaving those seven to go without dinner for the night because they had been 'Too Slow'. Blake wanted to spit.

"Today" Admiral Ward said, now standing on the stage like he had last night. "You have gone through some of the most intense training any of you will probably ever be able to do at your age. You have shown, tested and proven your metal. And for that I congratulate you" he said. "And to show you my thanks, I present you all with prizes" he added and Captain Vasiliev nodded.

A few seconds later and numerous men in kitchen uniforms came out and set down _heaven_ on Green Team's table. Cobbler, ice cream, soda, ect. It might seem odd, but after the day Blade had, it was the best thing he could think about at the moment. However it was _only_ Green's table.

When complaints arose, Captain Vasiliev was quick to dish out punishment. "Not all prizes will be rewarding ones, as you have just seen" Admiral Ward nodded to the captain and then continued speaking. "Those of you that win, you shall be rewarded. However those of you that don't..." he said and as if on cue, and it probably was, a handful of DI's came to both Red and Blue's tables and began taking various parts of peoples meal at random, and stuffing them in a bag and walking away. "...will have to endure...also, you shall have free time after dinner tonight, do not wander off..." Ward said and then walked off the stage. Presumably to go eat.

Blake watched the whole thing with a bit of distaste. He loved competition and rubbing it in peoples faces, but taking half their _food_ from them if they lost? That was just crazy. Sighing, Blake just dug into his dinner, his recently added desert and then stood up.

"Where are you going?" Jamie asked, who was currently joking with Matt and Issac.

"Nowhere" Blake said and walked off. Seconds later and he exited the cafeteria. He was about to go and head towards his barracks when he smelled something, something he couldn't miss anywhere else. It was _her_ smell. _Crap..._ Blake thought just as a fit, but not overly fit, form slid up against his back. "Alexandra" he whispered softly.

"So you _do_ remember me" she said into his ear as she tried to shift around to face him, but he didn't let her, using his arms to keep her behind him.

"Of course" Blake scoffed. "The warden still gives me a hard time about...what happened" he muttered.

A soft, feather light kiss was placed on his neck and he resisted a shudder. "It was just all fun and games" she whispered into his ear. "Shouldn't get so worked up over it" she said as she trailed a few more kisses on his neck. "We could go have some more fun right now if you-"

"Stop" Blake said.

"Why?" was that a hint of hurt in her voice he detected? "Are you going off to some other girl now?" she asked moving back slightly from him. To her delight, he ended up moving so he was still snugly against her.

"No" Blake said.

"Then wh-"

"Hey Alexandra! Get your hind over here, we got some stuff to go deal with!" a teen shouted and Blake realized it was Red's leader, Mac Peppers.

"Talk to me...k? Don't just throw me out" was the small whisper below his chin and Blake realized she was against his chest now, because he had turned around. Before he could do anything, the red headed convict had leaned up and kissed him softly before running off, leaving him with his eyes glazed over like she had only a few years ago.

Deciding to go finish what he had set out to do, Blake ran over to the barracks and snuck inside, where he found Oliver, the kid with the greasy blond hair, Xavier and Jessica, who had been confined to their quarters for the night.

"Well, at least our leader decided to pay us a visit" Jessica muttered as she lay upside down on her bunk, clad in only shorts and a tee shirt, her hair hanging loosely and aimed at the ground.

Blake ignored the comment, he had already stopped trying to deny the title, nobody else wanted it and _everybody_ wanted him to have it, and he had sneaky suspicion that it was because the leader was _always_ the fall guy. Once he was sure he was the DI's weren't waiting to jump him, he revealed the bag he had swiped from one of the DI's who had been talking to Vasiliev near the door, and had let it touch the ground for a moment.

Curious, Xavier opened the bag and froze at the sight of all the food stuffed inside. Yeah it was mixed together and what not, but it was that or go hungry. "T-Thanks" he said in surprise as Jessica and Oliver did likewise, of course Jessica's thanks was a kiss on the cheek, a 'friendly' kiss on the cheek she assured him however.

Once he was sure they had escaped the DI's detection, he made his way back across the compound and back into the cafeteria, where the festivities of Green Team were still in full swing. He grimaced as he saw Jamie on the table, his jumpsuit already unzipped to his stomach and he was dancing as if he were drunk while singing.

The DI's were nowhere in sight and as far as he knew, this was going on until lights out. Dropping his head on the table, where a annoyed Amelia was doing likewise, he grinned and closed his eyes. _Every time you touch a bowl of chocolate chip cobbler and turkey...every. Dang. Time._ He thought sadly.


	9. Chapter 9: War

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 9: War_

**A/N: Please correct me if I am wrong about the UNSC Frigate's hangar size. The only hangars I remember are the Pillar of Autumns and a Covie hangar, so feel free to correct any errors you find.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO**

_**Varjuga Elu, Orbit**_

_**8/5/2541, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1400 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

The ride was mostly silent. Everyone was absorbed into their own thoughts as the UNSC LGHOST or Low Gravity Heavy Orbital Stealth Transport, that Green Team was currently loaded up in, moved across the dark void of space that surrounded Varjuga Elu and the rest of the galaxy. It's destination? The UNSC frigate _Shade of Spades_.

The vessel was decommissioned and out of use by the rest of the Navy due to technical failures that would make it a death trap during a naval engagement. Luckily, it fit their purposes just fine.

With the armaments taken away and the engines disabled, along with a few dozen other changes to the ship, it had become the perfect testing field for Admiral Ward to test out his soldiers. Pitting the thirty odd recruits against about a hundred and seventy NBDM's, along with the ability to turn the gravity on and off, lock and unlock the blast doors and with a few customizations, it was basically a massive maze with realistic naval combat thrown in.

So far, this was their third game against the NBDM _Slicer_ Company, with two of them lost and the most recent one having been won. On either side of their LGHOST were the Red and Blue Team's own LGHOST's, which were speeding right towards the _Spades_, aiming for the airlocks.

The objective was simple. Secure the bridge, engines and hanger, disable and/or capture all of the NBDM's and do it without being completely wiped out.

To Blake, all of that seemed a bit more then 'Simple'. But ever since he had joined this crazy program a year ago, his life had been three things, Crazy, Dangerous and More Interesting. But Simple was NOT one of them.

"Ten Seconds" Blue Team's leader, Zack Ezo, said over the team com. "Everyone goes radio silent after this, check your HUD's for your orders. Team leaders, keep your boys quiet" then the com shut off.

Blake sighed and stood up. "Alright ladies, you heard him, shut up and guns up!" he ordered. It had taken some getting used to, but he had been unofficially appointed the de facto leader of Green Team, just like Zack had been made the de facto leader of the entire thirty teenage company that was known as Shadow Company.

And speaking of getting used to, he slid his helmet on just as the siren warned them that they were about to impact with the vessel. When they had first started this new 'Game', they had been issued new armor. Something called DSIA armor, which stood for Deep Space Integrated Armor. It was silver painted and was designed the same way as their old armor had been, with the same locking mechanisms that sealed when hit by the laser bolts used in their mock battles. However it was also designed to be used in space, as the name suggested. It had about ten minutes of air in the tanks, plus an extra thirty for emergencies, in case someone got hit while out in space or some other unexpected, or unwanted, situation that might arise.

Just as he finished thinking this, Blake had gotten locked back into his crash seat, and as soon as he had finished that, there was a loud crashing sound as they were nearly tossed out of their chairs mixed with screeching metal and warning klaxons from inside the ship.

Groaning, the crash was always the hardest part, Blake unlocked the crash bar before his armored chest and stood up, checking his M90 Shotgun and M6D pistol, making sure they were still working. "Ok green" he said, his HUD finally coming online. "Let's go kick some NBDM butt" he said with a grin. This was what made all of the dang training worth it, to get to shoot at _something_ that shot back, to feel the adrenaline rush through his veins and relish the feeling of success, when they won it anyways.

As the Greenies, as the other two teams referred to them as, exited their LGHOST, Blake blinked and then accessed his orders.

**/GREEN TEAM DSIA ARMOR IDENTIFIED. GREEN 01 IDENTIFIED. ORDERS FROM BLUE 01 RECEIVED...ORDERS: GREEN TEAM IS TO MOVE AND SECURE THE HANGER ROOM THIS TIME, WATCH OUT FOR ANY REPELLING FORCES. MAKE EM CRY\\**

Nodding, Blake beamed the message to all of the other Green Team members and then sent out orders to his troops by using the small message communicator built into each team leader's helmet, which was to advanced for Blake to care about how it worked.

**/GREEN 05, 06 AND 09 ARE TO PROCEED AHEAD. 04, 07 AND 010 ARE TO GUARD THE REAR. 01, 02, 03 AND 08 WILL BE RIGHT BEHIND THE SCOUTS\\**

Blake then blinked again and the message was sent off. He got nine green lights on his HUD and nodding once more, he followed Matt and Cole as they followed their scouts, who were quickly making their way ahead, sniffing out any danger to the rest of the Team.

Minutes later and they found themselves outside the main doors to the hanger. The hanger was actually really small, compared to a Marathon or Halcyon class hanger, which had up to maybe ten decks. The _Spades_ however only had two decks, the top one housing Pelicans and Hornets along with any other air vehicles that the ship might be required to hold, while the second housed all manners of ground vehicles, ranging from the M808B Main Battle Tank, to M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle, or LRV.

However, all that was currently present, as far as Blake knew, after the Navies 'Reconfigurations' were steel boxes and empty ammo crates. Oh and the NBDM's...you couldn't forget them. Sadly.

Blake made a few gestures with his hands, something that Captain Vasiliev had been sure to _drill_ into their minds, as they all gathered near the doors, careful to keep out of sight as they set up around the sealed door as he had instructed. Seconds later and Oliver, their best scout, reported over the com.

"There's gotta be thirty or more of them" he said quietly, a soft crackle could be heard as he breathed in some air, and then moved around a bit, most likely keeping out of sight. "They got MG's on the second floor, half a dozen of them are on the second too. The rest are scattered behind the boxes and crates...they got...looks like carbines and assault rifles..." he reported. "A few got some shotguns" he added.

Blake nodded to himself. A bit ticked at breaking radio silence, but at least they knew the enemies strength and position now. "Ok" he whispered. "But I want you out of sight, and stay _quiet_" he said, then resumed his radio silence.

Blake made a few more gestures and Jamie moved over and placed a 'Live' MG-HE Boarding Charge. In reality, it wouldn't destroy the door, but it would, technically, cause the door to open because it had been 'Destroyed'. The Naval Department couldn't go around all day replacing the vast amounts of metal that would be destroyed if they had to do it the old fashioned way, even if Jamie really, really wanted to.

The mission timer hit 1430 hours just as the bomb went off, which was silent because it lacked a explosion, but an electrical charge went over the steel doors and moments after the doors slid to the side and Green Team moved inside, where a few dozens boxes were already set up.

Just as he slid against a box, he could hear the tell-tale gun shot sounds of the NBDM's guns as their laser bolts slammed into the boxes that Green was hiding behind. "Return Fire!" Blake shouted, radio silence no longer mattering. He raised his own gun and jammed the trigger down as he emptied half his entire clip before pulling his gun back down as the Green Team recruits fired their own guns, some aiming and some following Blake by blind firing. Whatever the case, half the bottom floor marines were down, but the top floor was still keeping most of the team pinned.

But a second before Blake could shout out a order, there were multiple explosions from the second floor as grenades went off and the guns were silenced. "Got your back boss" Oliver's quiet voice said over the com as Blake grinned. Now things were shaping up.

"Jessica, Cole, get your rears up there and use those MG's to cut those guy's down!" he barked over the com as he primed and then tossed a grenade. A moment later and shouts could be heard as the grenade went off.

After losing the first two games aboard the _Spades_ that the DSIA armor they wore had sedatives embedded in them, so when you got hit, you got HIT. Whatever area was hit by the lasers, caused the armor not only to lock up, but a extremely powerful sedative would come into contact with the skin via injectors of the armor, effectively causing the wounds to act like wounded areas, and if you got hit in the chest the entire armor locked up. May god help you if you got hit in the groin or head, either would hurt for hours after waking back up, the former would hurt _even_ worse.

Blake returned from his thoughts to find that the battle was over and with a light casualty of only two of their teammates, Matt and Cole, both going down charging the NBDM troops, he couldn't help but grin at the faces of the marines when they saw the two armored teenage delinquents of muscle charge right at them, guns blazing.

"Ok now that we-" Blake stopped short as a emergency flash hit his HUD.

**/GREEN TEAM ARMOR IDENTIFIED. GREEN 01 IDENTIFIED. FLASH: ENEMY RANKING OFFICER ABOARD. SHADOW COMPANY ORDERS ARE TO CAPTURE THIS OFFICER AT ALL COSTS. INTEL REPORTS THAT SIX TAC-NUKES HAVE BEEN PLACED AROUND THE SHIP, YOU ARE TO DISABLE OR SLOW DOWN THESE CHARGES IF POSSIBLE\\**

Blake groaned. This was just getting better and better. "Zack?" he asked over TEAMCOM. "Where do you want me?" he asked. All he got was static. "Zack?"

"He's gone" Mac Peppers, Green Team's leader said over the com. "All of Blue is...they ran into a bunch of M168 Demo charges, curtsey of our good friends the NBDM's, all of C sector is gone, they locked it down because it doesn't 'Exist' anymore" he said grimly.

Kicking a uncounsoius marine's body in frustration, Blake clicked his com. "Which are you going for? The bomb or the VIP?" he asked. This was bad. Six Fury class nukes, or Tac-Nukes, was very, very bad. One would destroy the ship, six was just overkill.

A few minutes passed in radio silence and Blake began to fear that Mac was gone too, but the radio turning on put his fears to rest. "I'll take the bombs, or as many as I can get. You go get the VIP, but make sure you don't screw this up" Mac said and then the com shut back off.

"Ok Green" Blake said. "We got the VIP" he said, answering the questions that the others had been wondering about the entire time in just five short words.

/

_**UNSC Shade of Spades, Deck 7, Orbiting Varjuga Elu**_

_**8/5/2541, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1500 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Sir"

"Great" Lieutenant James Ronkad said grimly as he cocked his M6D pistol. He had been informed about the fact that he had been promoted to VIP just minutes ago and now he was trying to make his way to the escape pods, god help him if _they_ found him first.

Swallowing, Rex and the small group of fellow NBDM's accompanying him continued towards the escape pods, which were only a deck below them. A few more halls and they would hit the elevator to the deck below, Rex told himself.

However, fate had other plans. For just as they turned the corner, the lights cut out, green flashed all around them and a handful of screams broke through the near silent hallway.

Before Rex could even figure out what was going on, the lights snapped back on and he was looking at a group of silver armored figures who could only be the Shadow Company trainee's. Then something hit him on the back of the head and he blacked out. But just before he did, he swore he heard someone say something about mission accomplished. Maybe it had been a loudspeaker.

/

**Yet another chapter, and soon Covie butt shall be handed out on a silver platter, so stay tuned, and REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 10: Thoughts

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 10: Thoughts_

**A/N: REVIEWWWWW!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO, ONLY SHADOW COMPANY, THEIR ARMOR, SOME OF THEIR WEAPONS, MY OC's AND WHATEVER ELSE I HAVE MADE UP, OR WILL MAKE UP...**

_**UNSC NAVAL TRAINING GROUNDS, BASE A-47, SC-GT Barracks, Rooftop**_

_**6/9/2543, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**2300 Hours, Military Standard Time **_

Blake eyed the stars above his head, seemingly never ending, and possibly they never did, with a bit of awe and a dash of confusion mixed together. He wondered if he would see those stars after tomorrow. After the process.

Hours ago, right after Shadow Company had enjoyed probably the best dinner they had ever had, consisting of turkey, roast beef, steak, and various other things, Admiral H.T. Ward had dropped two massive, completely life changing things on them.

The first had been that, two months ago, Admiral Cole had presumably been killed, which was like saying Vasiliev would be dressing in a bikini and talking in French for the rest of his life. They just couldn't believe it.

It wasn't that over the past three years all of them had become patriots to the cause, or whatever they called it. Far from it. No, they just couldn't believe that the UNSC's, no, all of _Humanities_ best shot at survival was gone. It was unthinkable. What Ward had said the first day had been true, they all feared being killed by the covenant's guns while they were trapped. Caged. That was probably why they had stayed here.

The other piece of world changing news was that they were done. They had completed their training and now they were moving on to the second phase. The augmentation process.

Ward had assured them that they would come out of it in one piece, and that it would be a cake walk. But Blake knew that anything with the word _augmentation_ in front of it, couldn't be good.

"Why are you so glum?" a familiar voice asked. "I mean, more then you are normally"

Blake just rolled his eyes softly as he continued to star at the stars, laying flat on the roof of their barracks. "Because you had to come and bug me" he said dryly.

Amelia allowed a short chuckle as she got comfortable next to him, now facing the stars like he was. "Funny, so why are you _really_ out here?" she asked, just a hint of concern in her voice.

Blake finally crumbled and let out a short sigh. "Just wondering..." he said cooly.

"About?" Amelia asked.

"Where i'll be tomorrow..." Blake admitted as he turned to face her. "Why are you being so nosy anyways?" he asked.

Fighting down a small blush, something she had to do a lot with a barracks full of guys, Amelia answered. "Just wondering..." she said, mimicking Blake.

Blake just sighed again and returned to watching the stars. Dealing with her right now wasn't worth it to him.

"Do...Do you think we'll all make it tomorrow?" Amelia asked slowly.

Blake wanted to avoid _that_ question, but he knew he couldn't get out of it. He wasn't much of a conversationalist and he knew she would persist no matter what he tried to use to steer the conversation away from it. "Of course" he lied.

"Your lying" she stated. "We've known each other for three years, I can tell when you lie" she added. "So, you think we're not going to make it?" she asked once more.

Mentally groaning, Blake nodded. "Not all of us" he admitted. "Not all of us..."


	11. Chapter 11: Green Team

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 11: Green Team_

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO**

Peguis IV, Orbit

_**11/3/2543, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1200 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

"_Not all of us..."_

"_Nurse! Nurse! His Vitals are fading!"_

_The pain. The pain it flared through his limbs, his body, his mind in a flash, spreading like warm water all the way up and then it stopped and began to burn into his body, then it repeated._

"_Not all of us..."_

_His mind was working on overdrive, despite the sedatives, to keep his body working, to keep him alive. His whole body felt like it was about to explode from the pain, his bones felt like glass._

"_Not all of us..."_

_His skin fealt as if it were being stretched beyond it's length. His veins as if liquid fire was poured in them. His-_

Blake Lee was broken out of his troubled slumber by his long time friend, Jamie Cornerston, shaking him awake. Groaning he eyed the other man with a bit of anger, but he didn't voice his anger, nor did he do anything drastic.

"Go time" the fellow spartan whispered and Blake nodded.

Still groaning slightly as he woke himself up, Blake pulled his helmet off his lap and closed it over his head, sealing him inside the Deep Space Survival Armor, or DSSA Mark I, which was a mix between a space suit and the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor. That done, he stood up and collected his shotgun and assault rifle from the floor and connected the former to his back as he held the latter in his hands.

Glancing around, he found Amelia and Jessica were also awake and suiting up as Jamie stood ready by the door, locked into a harness as he stood straight up, a captured grenade launcher, which he had taken from one of the creatures they had run into on their first boarding op, was stuck to his back and a standard Assault Rifle in his hands.

As he strapped into a harness across from Jamie, he watched the remaining two members of Green Team finish suiting up and waking up, before they two strapped into the crash harness as the timer in the corner of his HUD began to count down. _Twenty seconds..._ Blake thought emotionlessly.

"_Not all of us..."_

"_I'm sorry...but their gone"_

Blake shook his head. The small replays of September seventh had kept bugging him, even if it was months since the augmentation process and over half his team were wiped out.

Blake didn't consider himself a very social person, or one who enjoyed friendships that much. But when you spend three years of _grueling_ training and teamwork with nine others, you grow close. Maybe not romantically or family wise, but you became, if not friends, then at least brothers in arms.

He still heard them talking, so long ago it seemed, ever now and again.

"_Got your back boss.."_

"_You just don't appreciate the things that explosions can do to your life"_

"_Names Cole. Cole Rails. And you must be the infamous Blake Lee"_

Shaking his head once more, Blake forced the memories of his dead teammates to leave his mind as he focused on the objective at hand. "Four seconds" he said, his voice calm, emotionless, deadly. Three green lights blinked on his HUD.

/

_**Covenant CCS Glorious Fire, Deck Twelve**_

_**11/3/2543, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1225 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

One of the many hallways that led throughout Deck Twelve, and the CCS in general, was rather quiet as only a pair of grunts walked down the hall, guns holstered and unused as they made their way to wherever they were going. However, quicker then either could react, the wall blew apart and a large metal pod slammed into the hall slightly.

And while the blast was not very powerful, it was strong enough to send both grunts flying into the wall, where they became nothing more then a bloody smear on the wall and a pile of bloody flesh.

The pod itself was unscratched, due to it's armored front. Mere seconds after it had penetrated the weakened wall of the CCS's hull, directly after a barrage of well timed boarding charges directly just after the CGS had dropped it's shields to fire it's main guns, the front slip open, revealing a door. The door then slid open with a hiss and two black painted, armored figures walked out. The largest one had a shotgun on it's back, while the one that was slightly less large had a odd weapon connected to it's back, which resembled a flame thrower or grenade launcher. Behind those two, were two more black armored figures, expect they were more slender. One had a sniper rifle attached to it's back, while the other had a rocket launcher hooked on. All four of them however had assault rifles in their hands, ready to reap death upon the hapless covenant souls that fell into their sights.

"Ok, Amelia, you take point, Jessica and I will be right behind you. Jamie, get our present ready" Blake said rapidly as he examined the dead grunts, or what was left of them. Just like before, three green lights greeted his eyes a second after he had spoken.

As Jamie began dragging the explosives he had brought with him on their LGHOST, which was a pair of Fury Tactical Nukes, a dozen M168 Demolition charges and one HAVOK Nuke, or as he called it 'A Cake of Death', out of the transport, Amelia began to move on down the left part of the hall before rounding the corner.

Once Jamie had gotten the pile of bombs, which were in a metal box, loaded onto the titanium cart, it was really just a panel of titanium with wheels screwed to he bottom, Jake and Jessica began to help him pull it.

With the three spartans, and their enhanced strength, pulling the cart, they quickly caught up with Amelia, who was busy taking down a group of grunts, who fell quickly to her well aimed bursts from the MA5B in her hands.

"How far?" Jamie asked in mock exasperation.

"Another thousand feet forward, then a hundred feet down" Amelia said casually as three jackals rounded the corner. She then casually dropped the MA5B and drew the sniper on her back, and then, without aiming, dropped all three with only a pair of bullets.

"What's the matter? Your aim not good enough to hit all three of em?" Jamie asked. A half second after he said that and a sniper round missed his crotch by _just_ enough to ensure that she hadn't been trying to hit him there, but that she _badly_ wanted to.

"No" Amelia said, anger laced under her normally cheery and calm exterior. "Your whining just messed my shot up" she added as she put the rifle back on her armor and picked up her MA5B. Before anyone could say anything, she began to head off down the hall, intent to take her anger out on the covenant before her.

"Why" Jessica said. "Is it that you _always_ just _have_ to pack so many explosives?" she complained as they continued dragging their bomb.

"Because it makes a wonderful color when-"

"Guys!" Amelia said over TEAMCOM. "We got trouble" she said.

Blake nodded over the com, even if she couldn't see him, and turned to Jessica. "Come on" he said. "Jamie, stay" he ordered as they sprinted down the hall. "There!" he added as he pointed at the spot Jamie was currently standing at. Then he rounded the corner.

What he saw made him glad Jessica was next to him.

Amelia was ten feet from them, busy with not two, but four, friggen _four_, Hunters. She was twisting and dodging her way away from the mammoths of covenant infantry as a loud WHOOSH could be heard. Seconds later and the pair of rockets fired from Jessica's launcher hit the tightly packed creatures and a loud BOOM followed as the _entire_ hall was painted orange.

Wiping off the goop, Blake glared at Jessica, who had coolly put the launcher back on her back and picked up her hastily discarded Assault Rifle. "You just _had_ to fire at them without warning, didn't you?" he asked, glancing down at his gore covered armor.

"Makes life fun" Jessica said simply in a way of reply as Amelia continued on down the hall, walking past the busted up armor and dripping walls as she continued on her way.

"Guys?" Jamie asked. "Are we ever gonna move this dang thing?" he asked.

Blake sighed and followed Jessica back to where their teammate was at. They then continued to drag the explosives on their cart down the hall.

About an hour later and they had finally made it to the room that was their destination, which was the CCS's Control Room or bridge.

Leaving the explosives under Jamie's guard, Blake, Jessica and Amelia moved up towards the door they had fought through about five or six squads of covies for and took up positions around it. Blake then nodded to Jessica and she hit the controls, causing the door to slide open. Then four things happened at once.

In the bottom levels of the control bridge in the center, a handful of maintenance grunts squealed in surprise, off in the corner, a elite Major howled in rage, up on the bridge, the golden elite, or admiral, was hit by Amelia's expert sniping, however it jumped off the bridge and avoided death for now, and the final thing was Jessica firing her reloading launcher, sending two orbs of fire into the chaos that Green Team had caused in about four seconds.

By the time the confusion was over, Green Team was already ripping through the covenant's ranks. Blake was blasting the elites with his shotgun as Amelia hung back and covered him, while Jessica switched to her Assault Rifle and began gunning down the grunts and chucking grenades at the elites that avoided both Blake and Amelia's sights.

After a mere ten seconds the entire room was filled with nothing but blood, limbs, gore and lots of bodies. Leaving Amelia to secure the entire room, Blake and Jessica then helped Jamie move the massive explosive filled crate into the chamber. The only thing that broke the silent air other then their slightly strained breathing was a sniper shot as Amelia finally killed the struggling Admiral.

"Ok" Blake said after the bomb filled box was _finally_ in place. "Jamie, set the timer and let's get the heck outta here" he ordered as he fed a few more shells into his shotgun.

"Gotcha" Jamie said with glee. The only thing that made him more happy then some sort of explosive weapon to try out was getting to set the timer on his own homemade contraption of explosive ordnance while they were on a highly populated covenant ship. "Done" he said after setting the timer with a ten minute countdown.

"Good. Let's move" he said and then they exited the room and made a dead sprint for the hangar. Now, with no bombs to slow them down, they made a rapid pace straight past four more squads of grunts, a group of cloaked elites and a jackal phalanx.

By the time the timer read two minutes, they had boarded a covenant drop ship, which they had trained heavily on during their final year at Varjuga Elu, before blasting out of there at full speed. Seconds after they got out of the blast zone, the ship was engulfed in multiple blue explosions and lines of plasma ran along it's hull before the entire capital ship was obliterated in a massive blue plasma ball.

Feeling the adrenaline rush began to subside, Blake took off his helmet and took a breath of fresh air as Jamie did his best to get the drop ship to head towards the UNSC Destroyer _Jerusalem_.

/

_**UNSC Destroyer Jerusalem, SC barracks**_

_**11/3/2543, UNSC Military Standard Time**_

_**1500 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

Blake, now clad in gray shorts and a sleeveless shirt, allowed his body to drop down on his bunk as the _Jerusalem_ made a random slipspace jump, the world of Pleguis IV now a burning cinder. Despite all he, and the other eleven spartans ahd done, the battle, like every other dang battle, was just another defeat.

But, other then Blake and Zack, Shadow Company continued to keep their spirit, each in their own ways, like Mac, Jamie, Ryan, Joshua and Veronica would be playing a game of poker or some other game. Zack would be in the far back of the room on his own bunk, as glum as Blake ever was, reading some book or just remembering his comrades who were gone. Alexandra would be trying to bug him again and Amelia and Jessica would be talking about Amelia's sniper or Jessica's launcher, modifications they wanted done, or just something girly. Which was something they rarely indulged in. Ever.

He himself just closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. But if it were any normal day then right about...

"Blake?"

_Right on time..._ "Yes?" Blake asked, as if this didn't happen every bloody day.

"What's up?" Alexandra asked as she sat on the edge of his bed. It was well known among every surviving member of Shadow Company that Alexandra had a thing for him. Maybe it was just her trying to have some fun with her old bunk buddy from Rock Edge, maybe she really had feelings for him. Whatever the case, he didn't care.

"No" Blake said. "I don't want to sleep with you" he said calmly.

Alexandra sighed and laid down on his bed, almost cuddling against him. "Why are you always such a party pooper?" she teased, trying to not let the effect his words had on her show.

Blake grinned softly to himself. Before he had been caught sleeping with her back at Rock Edge Maximum Security Prison, Kazakhstan, they had been good friends and had just ended up _really_ good friends a few days before her instant transfer.

"When have you not known me to be one?" he asked.

"True" she agreed, one of her fingers messing with his black hair.

"Now give me some dang personal space."

/

**I don't know how well this chapter came out, so REVIEW and tell me. I mean it, I can't keep writing these chapters if you don't give me some reviews! It feels as if no one is reading this fic! (Hint: Tell me what you want to see Green Team do next!)**


	12. Chapter 12: The Changes of War

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 12: The Changes of War_

**A/N: To clear up any confusion, the calender is day/month/year. Ignore the errors in latter chapters, I have been messing them up.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO**

_**Earth, Orbit, Briefing Room 1-A Of The Salamander**_

_**3/9/2552, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**0800 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

Nine years. In three days it would have been nine years since the delinquents of Varjuga Elu had died, and barely any of them were reborn as Spartan II's. Blake found the irony almost complete, for not only in three days would it the day they had received and survived their augmentations, but in two days it would be the day they had learned of Admiral Cole's presumed death. Now they were sitting in another briefing room, right over Earth, the birthplace of humanity, about to get more grave news.

"Gentlemen" Fleet Admiral H.T. Ward said as he walked onto the stage. "Ladies" he said, indicating the few females of Shadow Company. "I have...some dire news" he added. "Less then four days ago, the military stronghold you know as Reach...was destroyed" he said, practically saying the game was up. That the war was over. Or that all hope was gone. All three would pretty much sum up the thing they now knew.

"But that is not what I have called you here today to talk to you about" Ward said as he made a gesture and the lights dimmed. "The same day Reach was attacked by the Covenant, August thirtieth, was the same day that a group of Spartan II's, much like yourselves, were to go and capture a Covenant Prophet, however the attack...killed them all before they could even start the mission" he said sadly. "Now" he turned and faced them. "That Task falls to you..." he stated. "I know this won't be easy. I know you have not suffered a single casualty during your war record, but this will be the hardest thing you have ever faced yet..." he paused to take in a breath before continuing. "Please go the armory and take whatever you need, pack heavy, for a months trip, just in case...then meet me in the secondary Hangar when you are done" he said and left as the lights turned back on.

Blake was stunned. Reach...gone? And now they were going to capture a prophet? What was going on with the UNSC now a days? Feeling Zack tap his shoulder, he sighed and followed his company leader out the door. They had work to do.

/

_**Earth, UNSC Salamander, armory**_

_**3/9/2552, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**0830 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

"I Think I'm in heaven" Jessica murmured as she stared at all of the assorted weapons. Currently, Shadow Company was busy stuffing about thirty or so bags with guns, ammo, grenades and equipment. As well as food, water and medical supplies.

Blake himself was already geared up for battle. They had been told to prep for a battle immediately, so he had quickly secured a pair of SMG's to his thighs, his shotgun to his back and a Assault rifle was hanging in one hand, the leather strap griped tightly in his guantleted hand as he slid ammo clips, grenades and other pieces of gear into the pouches, slots and holsters on his armor. Once he had finished that, he slid a tactical knife into a special pouch made specifically for it and then grabbed his pack and slid it on over his shotgun. That done, he followed Jamie and Alexandra out of the armory and made his way down to the hanger, to bags, one full of weapons and the other full of supplies, in his hands that he had picked up on the way. They were ready for war.

/

_**Earth, UNSC Salamander, Sub Hangar**_

_**3/9/2552, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**0900 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

Once Shadow Company had placed all of their gear, excluding the gear they had on them, on the floor, ready to be picked up at a moment's notice, Fleet Admiral Ward smiled, then hit a button on a small black box and twelve small, not even noticeable to anyone other then a Spartan, consecutive gasps filled the room as one.

Before them stood one of the oldest UNSC vessels known to most of humanity. It was sleek, smooth and looked brand new. It was a Chiroptera-Class Stealth Ship, a bit longer then the normal a hundred and sixty foot length, it was most likely two hundred, maybe a bit more. Give or take.

"This" Ward said. "Is one of the present's were sending along with you" he said, a soft smile on his face despite the dark times they were in. "A refitted, rebuilt and reconfigured Chiroptera, along with engineered Covenant stealth technology. I'm sure you'll find a use for it" he said. "And now on to the next gift" he said and he gestured at Blake, Mac and Zack. Once they came forward he pulled out three glowing chips. "These are yours, Team leaders" he said. "Three AI units, the first...and sadly last generation of the Smart AI" he said, actually sounding slightly sad. "They are perfected versions of the old AI's, with a improved design from Doctor Hasely before she...passed" he said, again with a slightly sad face. They knew who she was, and how much she had done for the UNSC and Humanity. "These AI's will never run rampant, but are also smarter and better then the current Smart AI's we are using today...i hope you will use them well" he said and turned to a tarp that had been set up over something.

While he moved towards the tarp, Blake inserted the micro chip and felt something akin to trickling water enter his mind and solidify inside his head. "Ah so you are my new owner, eh?" a British accent said happily. "About bloody time"

"Daniel?" Blake asked in surprise. Daniel had been their AI teacher while on Varjuga Elu, but he had been destroyed when the Covenant had found the world. Hadn't he?

"I can read your thoughts you know" Daniel said. "An no, I wasn't. I was torn apart until only my base code was left, then transmitted to Hasely. She then 'Fixed' me up. Crazy woman..." Blake swore that Daniel had actually shuddered. "Oh, and pay attention" he snapped, as if it were an afterthought.

"I think I love that man" Jamie whispered to himself, forgetting his TEAMCOM was on, as he stared wide eyed at the spot where the tarp had been. When Blake saw it, he almost spat. It was _Thirteen_ HAVOK-Class Nuclear Warheads, with one massive cylinder in the center of the payload. "Is that a..." Jamie whispered as he stared at the bomb in the center.

Ward smiled once more. "This, Is you surprise for the Covenant. Thirteen HAVOK's and one..." he paused, as if for dramatic effect. "NOVA-Class warhead. These bombs together would crack a planet and then some" he said.

Blake felt the age old feeling in his gut now. Glee and fear. The age old feelings had bugged him since the first day as a Spartan. He was itching to test all of this hardware on the Covenant's hindquarters, but he was scared. This was real. They were going to go and fight the Covenant's best. And he didn't think they would-

"_Not all of us..."_

Blake shook his head. Not this again. Not now.

"Now, load up your gear and these bombs and then allow the ships auto pilot to take you to the next location" Ward said and left with a salute, which they instantly returned. A bit later and they had loaded everything into the starship and then, when all Spartans were aboard, turned the vessel on and allowed it to take them out of the hangar and then out into the deepness of space.

"You have a few hours, so you might as well get comfortable" Ward said over the com inside the ship. The Spartans, long used to waiting to get to do something, began loading extra things into slots and storage units as a few, like Mac or Jessica, would be sharpening a knife or cleaning a gun, while others were double, triple and quadrupole checking their guns, ammo and the ships systems, trying to pass the time.

Blake however only wanted to sleep. He knew he wouldn't be getting any of it in a few hours. And so he slid past Joshua, who was loading a bag of ammo into a storage unit near the door to the bunks and ducked under one of the bunk beads and dropped onto his own, his armored form causing the frame to creek. In seconds he was asleep.

/

_**Mars, UNSC Suicide, Orbit**_

_**3/9/2552, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1100 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

Blake awoke to the sound of Zack, in full armor, shaking him. "Up" was all he said before walking out of the bunk room. Blake could see a few others getting out of their bunks as well and decided it was finally time. He stood up and retrieved his Assault Rifle and Shotgun, both having been placed under his bunk after he had come aboard, before he came out into the hall and then followed it before entering the bridge. The rest of the spartans were already there and watching a live feed from Fleet Admiral Ward.

"Alright Spartans, here's you last surprise" The fleet Admiral said as their vessel, properly named the _Suicide_, came around Mar's bright side and entered the dark side. And there, hidden in the darkness of Mars, was a Covenant Frigate. "This is the pride and joy of the UNSC Navy" he said as they gaped in shock at it. "This Beauty was captured a few years ago and was slowly moved closer and closer to earth until it was placed here, and rengineered so that humans could use it." he said as the ship brought them closer. "We were going to use it in defense of Earth if it ever came to that, and we were going to try and adapt our vessels with shields and plasma weapons, but Reach changed all of that. Now she's your ticket to getting close to the prophets" he said and they finally passed the shield barrier and entered the Covenant Destroyer, which looked odd because of the natural lighting instead of the purple glow they were used to. "Good Luck and God's speed spartans" he said and the transmission died.

"Alright ladies" Zack said. "I want our gear double and triple checked, I want that NOVA unloaded and I want this ship moving four hours ago. Blake!"

"Sir?"

"Go upload your AI into the ship, tell him to get this bucket running and get it done now!" he ordered and Blake nodded and moved towards the exit ramp to do as he had been told.

"You got all that didn't you?" Blake asked and Daniel scoffed.

"Of course I did. Now upload me so we can get a move on!" he AI replied inside his head.

"Jeez, don't get your thong all twisted up" Blake grumbled as he reached for the AI card once he finally made it to the nearest terminal.

"Oh ha ha h-" Daniels sarcastic voice finally left Blake's head as he pulled him free and then placed him inside the terminal.

"All hands prepare for slipspace jump. Arrival time, 96 hours" Daniels voice echoed across the ship as a slight pull could be felt just before the ship entered slipspace, leaving Earth, the UNSC and all they were fighting to defend behind as they left for what could be their last mission.


	13. Chapter 13:Operation Independance Part 1

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 13: Operation Independence Part 1_

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO**

_**In-Route to High charity, UNSC/Covenant Painful Retribution, Hangar**_

_**6/9/2552, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**0959 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

Blake groaned in despair as he milled around the hangar. The spartans had been aboard the _Painful retribution_ for days now and he was sure he was slowly losing his mind. It was just pure _agony_ doing nothing after years of combat and bloodshed. Of action.

The rest were just as bad off. Mac and his normal partners in crime had been playing their poker games, but even that had become pretty dull after the first day, now they were just moping around like him, trying to find something to do. He knew Jessica, Amelia and Joshua would be with Veronica, hitting the target range that had been installed on one of the decks aboard the UNSC captured frigate. And if he knew Alexandra as well as he did...

"Blake?"

Rolling his eyes under his helmet, Blake turned around and faced the smaller, helmetless spartan, who's blood red hair spilled over her armor's chest and back plates like a small fountain or a splash of paint. "Yes?" he asked.

"Why do you always avoid me?" she asked, sounding slightly hurt.

"What?"

"Why can't we just be friends? Can't you do that for me? Friends?" she asked, taking a step closer to him.

"Because _friends_ won't be good enough for you. Just like last time..." Blake muttered. "And I am _not_ going through that again" he said, as knowing that she would just ask again.

"Blake..." she said, her voice coming out as seductive and friendly, almost playful. "Don't shut me out" she said as she stepped closer to him. "Let me in" she murmured as she took of his helmet, causing him to flinch slightly. "I'm not hurting you..." she whispered against his ear as she casually, almost too casually, kissed him flat on the lips, slipping her tongue past his frozen lips.

Whether it was because he was just far to bored for his own good, because he might just really still like her, or some other reason, Blake returned the kiss in full and soon he felt heat form around their armored bodies as they continued to kiss, her body reacting to him as she groaned. "Bunk...room...now" she panted out and Blake didn't even think about what he was doing as his brain automatically made him pick her up, their lips never leaving each other, as they quickly made their way out of the hangar and down the hall to one of the empty, improvised bunk rooms.

The door hadn't even fully sealed before their armor was already hitting the ground, followed quickly by their clothes.

/

_**In-Route to High Charity, UNSC/Covenant Frigate Painful Retribution**_

_**6/9/2552, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1300 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

Blake groggily woke up and found himself snug against Alexandra, laying on a mattress in a oddily lit Covenant storage room that had been converted into a bunk room. Realizing that he what he had just done, he muttered to himself as he mentally kicked himself in the head. He was such an idiot!

Hearing a sigh next to him, he found Alexandra was curled up against his chest, murmuring random words in her sleep as her red hair spilled around her face. Before Blake could figure out a way out of the situation, Daniel did it for him.

"Attention" the British talking AI said over the ship coms, which were in every room aboard the vessel. "Attention. All Spartans report to the bridge. Attention. All-" Blake tuned the AI out as he moved lower and, aginst his better judgement, trailed a few kisses along Alexandra's bare back and neck, savoring the feeling, before he shook her awake.

"What?" she murmured softly as she opened one of her eyes half way. Despite having just woken up, she still decided to kiss him a few times.

Kicking himself again for allowing her to keep doing this to him, Blake managed to get her fully awake. "Stop" he said and she looked hurt at the statement. "They need us on the bridge" he said and he saw her eyes change to slightly angered, but understanding.

"Ok" she said calmly and stood up, the blanket falling away. She then made, for lack of a better word, a _show_ of getting into her clothing and armor. By the time she had finally finished, he was waiting by the door, eyes still on her but now fully armored and ready to go.

Twenty minutes later and they entered the bridge, where the rest of the company was assembled. Zack eyed them with a look in his eyes that Blake knew meant he either knew, or he was pretty sure as to why they were late. "Now that your here" he said, indicating Blake and Alexandra. "We can begin" he said and stood back as Daniel appeared before them, using the covenant's holo projectors to show his chosen avatar to them.

"Spartans" he said nodding. "The flagship that we are going to board, is this" he said and a display shot up showing a huge station that looked like a giant mushroom head on a needle. "This, as far as ONI could tell, is called _High Charity_, the Covenant's city-ship and their base of operations" the view changed to that of a prophet. "Little is known about these prophets, other then the fact that they are the top of the structure in the Covenant's hierarchy. They are the de facto leaders" the image changed again to show a assortment of images put together, grunts, elites, jackals and hunters, along with a flying insect like creature and a gorilla looking one. "These are only some of the forces that are bound to be aboard the vessel. We have next to nothing on intel for this class of ship. So we can't be sure what to expect. We _do_ know, however, that the covenant have a large armada defending the ship, so it will be hard to sneak aboard" Daniel said as the images went away and were replaced by his avatar once again.

"Any questions?" he asked. No one said a word. "Good. Now go suit up, the _Retribution_ is dropping out of slipspace in two hours" he said and they left to go get ready. It was go time.

/

_**Unknown Space, High Charity**_

_**6/9/2552, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1530 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

All was quiet as High Charity, command center and personal transport for the High Prophets, floated in space, it's naval bodyguard floating around it, covering all angles of attack. However a small portal broke the silence as a lone frigate drifted out of the slipspace portal, just before it closed.

The covenant ships hailed it multiple times, but not once were the hails returned. In fact, they got no signs of life on it at all. Curious, the Covenant sent out a few warships to investigate, what harm could come from it?

The ships crept closer and closer, when all of the sudden all of the plasma turrets and all of the other guns opened fire, destroying the vessels. Immediately the armada around High Charity prepared to blast the ship so space dust with their combined firepower, only for a message to play.

""Listen to me, Covenant. I am Vice Admiral Preston J. Cole commanding the human flagship, Everest. You claim to be the holy and glorious inheritors of the universe? I spit on your so-called holiness. You dare judge us unfit? After I have personally sent more than three hundred of your vainglorious ships to hell? After kicking your collective butts off Harvest - not once - but twice? From where I sit, we are the worthy inheritors. You think otherwise, you can come and try to prove me wrong!"

The covenant knew this message. One brave admiral had spoken of it during a costly naval battle long ago. That human should have been dead! The Covenant, fool hardy and religiously and honor bound, moved every ship they had to board the vessel, leaving High Charity unguarded.

The vessels grew closer and closer, closing the short distance in minutes before they came up along side it, drops ships and boarding craft flying out in the thousands as they encircled the doomed ship.

And then, out of nowhere, a light glowed brighter then any other, right inside the belly of the ship. And then it exploded. The blast was massive and it caused the ships around it to boil and eventually melt into nothing but particles and debris as the entire once might Covenant fleet was obliterated in a second. And it didn't stop there...

The blast wave crashed into the side of _High Charity_ and in seconds the city-ship's shields failed and the entire side of the station that had faced the explosion was scorched and twisted, bits of the hull coming off and parts of the ship flaming blue as minor explosions ran along it. However the station was not destroyed. Not by a long shot.

It was a good thing Zack had counted on that.

"Ok" Zack said as the cloaked _Suicide_ made it's way towards the closest hanger on the _Charity_, which was easy to enter since mostly everyone on this side of the station were dead or unconscious. "Good work with that NOVA. Now we just have to get the prophets..." he said as they entered the hangar, the ship already making a move to land.


	14. Chapter 14:Operation Independance Part 2

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 14: Operation Independence Part 2_

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO OR BLAKE'S SIT REP SPEECH, WELL, MOST OF IT ANYWAYS. I OWN SHADOW COMPANY, SOME OF THEIR GEAR, WEAPONS AND VEHICLES AND MY OC'S, AND WHATEVE ELSE I HAVE MADE UP AND WAS NOT IN THE HALO BOOKS OR GAMES SPECIFICALLY.**

**REVIEW!**

_**High Charity, Hangar Bay**_

_**6/9/2552, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1600 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

"Ok, so does everyone get the plan?" Zack asked as they stood around in a messy circle, right next to the ramp leading into the _Suicide_.

Various responses, such as "Yeah", "Sure", "Go it", and "Yessir", came out of the armored and heavily armed group before and beside him. Nodding, Zack made some gestures and Blue team quickly made their way out of the Hangar, followed by Green and Red Team.

Minutes ticked by on Blake's mission clock as they made their way past Covenant guards, picking off grunts and jackals here and there and dealing with groups of Elites. All of them actually looked surprised when they saw the Spartans. They probably hadn't seen them.

"Ok Green" Blake said as they made their way up various ramps, heading for the upper levels of the ship. "Let's get these things set up" he said, indicating the four HAVOK's each of them carried. All twelve spartans had taken one, carrying them around with one hand, which was harder then you might think, and using their AR's with the other as they made their way to different parts of the ship, setting a bomb down here and there, just to cause some havoc when they left, no pun intended.

Hours later and Green Team had finished placing their bombs, however the Covenant had once again run into them and were attacking them from the three way intersection. "Hey Dan, where now?" he asked the super AI that had been placed inside his helmet just before leaving the _Retribution_, as he placed his hand on a terminal, allowing the computer program to access the files there.

"Take that door at the end of the hall, go up the ramps, take the door to the far left, at the end of that hall and there will be a lift that will take you to the top of this station, that is where the Covenant city is located" Daniel said rapid fire as he hacked through the Covenant data.

"Um...can you back up?" Jamie asked five feet away, shooting at a pair of elites, which both dropped dead as his brute shot blew chunks of their sides off as their shields finally failed. "Did you just say _city_?" he asked, sounding highly skeptical. And Blake was pretty skeptical of the idea too. As were the rest of Green Team.

"Yes" Daniel said matter of factly as Blake fired his AR at a grunt running down the middle hall, which Jamie was _supposed_ to be guarding, and killed it before the active grenades in it's hands could get within a dangerous radius of Green Team. "The Covenant have some sort of city at the top of this station, it has...an atmosphere? Yes. There is apparently a ship in the center of the facility. It must be forerunner, because it's powering the entire station" Daniel said over Blake's helmet speakers.

"Well now I've heard everything...short of Jamie actually getting some" Jessica said with a chuckle as she racked the bolt on her AR and fired, cutting down a squad of grunts and sending an Elite running behind cover as she tossed a grenade. "Which way?" Jessica shouted over the explosion, which left nothing but blue and purple blood and bits of gore strewn all over the hall. Suddenly a way point appeared on her HUD, which ended at the end of the left hallway. "Thanks!" she said as Green Team made their way down the hall and up the ramps.

As they were running up the ramps, one of the doors a level above them opened up and a group of five elites came running down, all wielding plasma rifles. "Look out!" Blake shouted as he switched to his shotgun as gunfire and laser fire were traded between the spartans and elites. One of the elites went flying back as his gun ripped it's chest to ribbons, leaving both hearts of the elite exposed and destroyed as they squirted thick purple blood in a attempt to continue moving the blood around. Another ended up with a sniper shot in the helmet, the 14.5 x 114mm round tearing past the shield and gutting an eye out as the brain juice leaked out both the front hole and the back one while the Elite next to it was hit off the ledge by Blake's Shotgun butt and sent down the entire six flights they had taken up before landing with a crunching sound.

The last two Elites were dealt with by another two shots by Amelia's sniper, both dropping with smoking holes in their chests. Blake eyed the corpses for a second, then continued up the ramps until they reached the top level. They then entered the hall outside and found a group of Brutes heading right towards the door. Knowing he had a millisecond before they reacted, Blake threw himself to the side and just in time, for Jessica and Jamie loaded up the beasts with Brute Shot and Rocket Launcher rounds until there was nothing but bloody and fleshy _paste_ on the floor.

"Will we ever get a break?" Jamie asked.

"Shut up" Blake groaned. He didn't need this right now.

* * *

_**High Charity, Lower City**_

_**6/9/2552, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1800 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

Blake hid behind one of the covenant's buildings as he watched a entire company of grunts move down a road, heading off who knows where, probably looking for them. Turning around, he stalked back into the alley and crouched down with Mac and Zack to his left or right, respectively.

"The plan?" he asked.

"Ok" Zack said as a small map popped up on a device he had pulled out of his pocket. "I'll take my team and go to the upper levels and secure the prophets" he said. "Mac, Blake, you two are going to work together to cause as much trouble as you can so that they thin the guards down a bit. Make sure they _stay_ in the lower levels." he said. "We'll meet back here at twenty one hundred if anything goes wrong, if not, I'll com you and we'll link up at the _Suicide_" Zack added. "Any questions?"

"No Sir" both Green and Red Team leaders said as they stood up, checked their guns, and then went on giving orders to their teams, ready to blow some stuff up.

_**High Charity, Lower City**_

_**6/9/2552, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1830 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

The pair of Sangheili manning the wraith had been patrolling the lower city for what felt like an eternity. They were bored, tired and annoyed that they were searching for an enemy that seemed to not be there, when all of the sudden there was a loud WHOOSH followed by another loud WOOSH. Before either could react, both the gunner and driver were destroyed as the two 102mm High-Explosive Anti Tank rounds covered the distance from the M41 Rocket Launcher and slammed into the Type-25 Assault Gun Carriage with a loud BOOM and in seconds both Sangheili were reduced to bone marrow and dust as their vehicle detonated into a plasma ball, covering the street in debris.

Grinning as she lowered the M41, Jessica high fived Jamie before reloading her prized weapon. "Man I love this job" she said as Blake checked his mission clock.

"The logs Daniel stole say that another patrol will be three streets down from this one in ten minutes, let's move it people" he said and tightened his grip on his MA5B and crossed the damaged street in the space of a few seconds, the rest of Green right behind him as they ran into another alley between two of the covenant buildings as overhead, a banshee could be heard off in the distance, most likely searching for them. But they wouldn't catch them.

By the time a minute and a half had ended, they were set up in another alley, staring at a three way intersection behind the Covenant's equivalent to a handful of dumpsters. "Amelia" Blake said as he crouched down beside the 'Dumpster' and zoomed his HUD in to watch a Covenant Shadow Transport, with two escorting ghosts, move down the street with a grunt on the top of the vehicle, manning the turret and moving it back and forth as it searched for the 'Demons'. "Take a roof and get set up" he said over TEAMCOM and heard one of the Covenant doors that led into the building to his left slide open and shut as the sniper made her way into the building. "Jessica, get your launcher ready and have another two sets ready" he said as he readied his MA5B. "Jamie, get your grenade launcher ready to fire too" he said and counted down the clock until the patrol would be at the best attacking range, but far enough away to lessen any fire aimed at _them_.

_Three...Two...One...NOW!_

"Fire!" he exclaimed over TEAMCOM as he jammed his finger down on the MA5B, killing the grunt gunner and one of the grunts in the ghost as well before he moved for another mag. During his burst of gun fire, Jessica had fired off her first two shots, one blowing the other ghost up and the last one slipping right into the spot where two more ghosts were ready and waiting, which caused a handful of chain reactions that took out half of the back of the Shadow. Meanwhile, Jamie had fired his entire belt of grenades and wiped out the armor plating on the Shade as Amelia, in the roof above, fired her sniper, hitting the grunt driver and another who had been running towards the gun turret, barely escaping the explosion from the back part of the Shadow.

Blake sighed and examined the ruined street. There was blue blood everywhere, as well as thick purple blood from the elites who had been on the docked ghosts, there was armor plating and bones scattered around and corpses too. Two of the three vehicles that had been active and moving were now ruined and destroyed and the other was currently inactive. "Alright" he said at last. "Jamie, go and leave a surprise for any of the Covenant that try and use the ghost, mark it so our guys know what's there, then get back here. Double time" he said over the TEAMCOM and watched the explosive expert run across the street, place one of his TR/9 Antipersonnel Mine under the ghost, careful to mark and hide it as he activated it and then sprinted back into the shadows of the alley, hidden behind the dumpster that covered most of the alley entrance.

"Now what?" Jamie asked.

Before Blake could answer, a flash came over his HUD.

**/UNSC DSSA IDENTIFIED. GREEN 01 IDENTIFICATION TAG RECOGNIZED. ORDERS: PROCEED TO COVENANT BARRACKS AT K-43. SECURE FACILITY AND AWAIT REINFORCEMENTS\\**

Muttering something along the lines of "Just my luck...", Blake set his gun down and turned to his team just as Amelia exited the building, MA5B once more in hand as her sniper rifle remained frozen against her back, the magnetic clamp keeping it still as stone. "Ok, here's the sit rep, we're moving a few dozen blocks down the road and get some donuts and coffee from the Covenant over there, only problem, the Covies already ate all our 'Nasty' donuts and drank all the coffee, so now we gotta go and kick them to the curb" he said and there were a few chuckles over the com. "Did I say nap time? Move it people" he said as they moved out of the alley, down a street and then around a corner, through another alley and so on.

* * *

_**High Charity, Lower City**_

_**6/9/2552, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1900 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

The Covenant Barracks were actually not as big as one might have thought. Merely the size of a large police station, the facility was on one of the corners of a plaza like space. It was about two or three stories high, round and had a pair of jackals guarding the doors with carbines set at a lazy attention. Less then three feet from it was the plaza, which seemed to be a major trading center or something, since there were so many roads leading to it. There were numerous beings of the many races of the Covenant crowding the center, stalls and stands set up with what appeared to be food and items spread around and whatever the aliens seemed to want.

But the craziness of the plaza was interrupted by multiple, loud, gunshots echoing across the air as both Jackals dropped dead. Before any of the creatures could even react, however, a handful of unseen grenades that had been rolled into the center from somewhere exploded and the panic then ensued as Jackals either drew weapons or fled with the grunts and buggers, while the Elites and Brutes to stop the crowd, draw their guns or find the attacker.

During the panic, both Blake, Jessica and Jamie jumped out of a sewage hatch and quickly snuck into the Barracks. They then made short work of the sleeping grunts with several well thrown grenades into the rooms as they advanced upwards. But even their quick stealth attacks didn't make taking a entire barracks simple. Not by a long shot.

About halfway through the second floor they ran into a entire group of Brutes who had several brute spikers, a few brute shots and even one of them had a pair of maulers. The resulting entanglement was a bloody mess as Brute blood and gore, with bits of shattered bone, marrow and sinew were plastered along the walls, floors and ceiling as the Spartan Commando's ripped through them, shot gun shells and MA5B rounds littering the floor as they drew their knives and pistols as they drew closer, using their guns as melee weapons as well.

By the time Amelia had slid her sixth clip into her rifle, a few buildings away, they had cleared the second floor and proceeded to the third one, where the highest ranking aliens would be located.

"Daniel, how far is Red Team?" Blake asked as they exited a door and began the cycle of chucking grenades and spewing bullets and shells out at the enemies that weren't sleeping or trying to get armed or armored.

"Red Team's tags are currently ten minutes from this position" was the calm reply of the British AI.

"Dang" was all the spartan said as he jammed his shot gun into a elites mouth, right between it's helmet and then pulled the trigger as he tossed his combat knife, which impaled a wounded elite in the neck, killing it. "What's the Covie reinforcement time?" he asked after taking out another elite.

"Two minutes"

Muttering to himself, Blake broke an elite's leg, shot it in the face and then turned around to find Jamie executing a elite with his Brute Shot's bladed bayonet. "Downstairs, now" he said and they followed his lead, moving down the ramps to the bottom floor just in time to find a dozen or more grunts and a few elites moving through the halls.

"Oh come on!" Jamie complained as Blake fired another of his rapidly depleting shot gun ammo at the elite that had charged at him with a energy sword, ending it's life as it died it's 'Honorable' death on the field, leaving a bloody and open chest as it fell backwards.

Meanwhile, Jamie had switched back to his MA5B and was cutting the grunts down in short bursts as Jessica did likewise. Blake followed their lead, already low on ammo for his shot gun, and soon they finished the first barrage of Covenant soldiers. "How you holding up Amelia?" Blake asked.

"I'm.." a sniper shot cut off her statement. "..good."

"Ok" Blake replied as he saw a brute chieftain with a gravity hammer charge into the room, a handful of jackals and grunts behind him with two brute minors.

"Lovely" Jessica said as she fired her rocket launcher, which she had pulled out for such an occasion. As the rounds connected, the Chieftain flew backwards, it's heavy shielding turned on as grunt parts and jackal corpses flew around behind it as the other rocket connected into the center of the amassed troops.

"Gun em up!" Blake shouted as Jessica dropped the M41 and a second later and three MA5B's began firing fresh clips at the remaining troops. Moments later and the Brute minors were lacking their armor and guns as they ran right at them, their Chieftain now mostly out of the wall it had gotten stuck in.

"Jamie!" Blake ordered and the explosive expert fired his grenade launcher, taking out both brutes with only four rounds. Blake nodded as the spartan switched to his MA5B once more, just as the brute Chieftain, it's shields depleted now, pulled itself from the wall. "Better luck next time!" Blake shouted and the three machine guns opened fire, painting the purple wall a dark red as the brute blood and brains splattered all over as the 7.62mm rounds peppered the beast like it was the fourth of july.

"Mac" Blake said over COMPCOM. "Where the heck are you!" he asked.

"Over...att...a...ba..." was all that came through the static that he got as something even worse happened.

"Bla...abo..ort...!" came over the com just before a loud explosion went over the com, just as it died, four bright lights appeared in the corner of his HUD, showing B01, B03, B04, and B07's BIO's flat line, Blue Team was gone. Seconds later, before anyone could even get over the shock of what had just happened, and R06 and R08 flat lined as well.

"Mac?" Blake yelled into his com. "Zack?" he tried. "Anybody?"

"You human fools" a voice said and Blake turned to see a display on, showing a odd looking alien, which could only be a prophet, talking to them. "Your friends have perished. They were ignorant to the might of the Covenant and walked into our glorious trap. Now you shall perish as well," the display then cut off as Amelia's voice came over the com.

"Uh...guys...we got trouble."


	15. Chapter 15:Operation Independance Part 3

_Shadow Company_

_Chapter 15: Operation Independence Part 3_

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HALO**

_**High Charity, Lower City, Covenant Barracks**_

_**6/9/2552, UNSC Military Calender**_

_**1936 Hours, Military Standard Time**_

"What do you have?" Blake asked, sounding off even to himself. He was still in shock that Blue Team had been completely wiped out and Red Team was badly damaged, with two KIA and the other two MIA. The mission was already going way down hill and-

Blake was suddenly broken out of his thoughts as Amelia reported in. "Three Wraith tanks, four banshee's, five ghosts, a half dozen Shadows and two Spectre's and a handful of Phantom's are moving towards you, I'm gonna link u-"

"Negative" Blake said, already guessing what she was going to ask. "Move back and find a good sniper spot, we'll be fine" he said and then checked both weapons, grabbed Covie grenades and then moved past his two gore covered teammates and glanced out the door to find Amelia was right, an entire Covenant army was advancing across the plaza right now, heading straight for them. How flattering.

"Ok Green" Blake said as he walked back inside, finding Jamie cleaning his grenade launcher's blade on a dead brute's armor plate and Jessica tossing a plasma grenade into the air, catching it as it fell back down and then repeated the process. "We got hostile's incoming, I want you ready to move fast" he said.

"We're not staying?" Jessica asked, surprised.

"No" Blake said. "There's too many and the mission is already over. We need to get to the _Suicide_ and get out of here now" he said plainly. "We're not going to die just yet."

Three green lights blinked on his HUD and Blake smiled as he headed towards the door, the rest of Green Team, other then Amelia, behind him. "Mac" he said as they reached the door. "If you hear me, if your alive, then move to rally point Delta-Charlie-Four" he said and then the door slid open and they were sprinting right out of the barracks and into the open street.

Immediately the covenant forces out on the plaza that were within range began firing at the small spartans. The Wraith rounds soared high into the air and arced down, blowing chunks out fo the ground around them as they sprinted into an alley as the banshee's peppered the walls and ground around them with their laser cannons.

Not waiting up for the covenant infantry, Blake and the rest of Green Team began sprinting down the alley and then around a corner as they made their way through the covenant city, an army behind them and banshee's above them. Just great.

"Contact!" Jessica said over the comm as a dozen or more jackals with their wrist shields up and running came down a lift to their left as they entered a small courtyard.

"Pop em!" Blake barked and started firing his MA5B at the first one out of the lift. It's shields sparkled and shook, but held against the metal rain while the rest of it's compatriots came up behind it, forming a phalanx. However the entire formation broke like glass on a rock as Jessica and Jamie unloaded their heavy weapons on them. The grenade rounds and rocket launcher missiles slammed into the shields and the center of the formation and splattered jackal guts and blood all over the yard just as the whine of a phantom could be heard. "Move!" Blake shouted and they began sprinting again as two of the large covenant drop ships flew over them and started firing at the spartans with their laser batteries while the troops inside began to fall down, firing as they went.

As needle rounds and plasma bolts hit all around him, Blake made erratic zigzags as he tried to avoid the harmful shower of alien weaponry above him. "Daniel!" he said. "We need a route out of here! Now!" he said as he spun around, still running with his team, and unloaded the last of his clip at the falling aliens. He was satisfied with three grunts dropping and an elite clutching it's wounded leg in agony as he spun back around.

"There is a route to your left, coming up...now" the AI said and the three members of green team turned to a door as it opened. They quickly piled inside and the door shut and locked immediately while Blake led them out another door, which led into a hallway. And, since _no_ building in this entire city couldn't have _no_ less then one elite, note the sarcasm, a elite major came around the corner with a covenant issue plasma machine gun, as most refereed to it as. "Hit the deck!" Blake barely managed to get this out before the gun began to spit out hot plasma at a fast rate, ripping up walls and floor plates while the spartans slammed into the ground, firing their weapons as they recovered. The elite took the opening barrage and managed to get it's sights on Jessica. The scorching hot rounds ripped into her shields, which failed and then began to cover her entire upper right arm, burning her badly.

As Jessica screamed, Blake ran at the creature, jumped over the stream of plasma as the creature tried to hit him with the gun's ammunition, and then shoved his shotgun in it's ugly face. "Hasta la vista freak!" Blake shouted as he pressed the trigger, blowing elite brain matter all over the back wall of the hallway as the body dropped dead. "Daniel, where to now?" Blake asked as Jessica, who was limping, caught up with him with Jamie, who she was leaning on with her left arm. The plasma must have also hit her right leg, since there was blood caked there as well on the dark black of the metal spartan armor.

"Down the lift to your left, then through the door and then a right and you will exit into a apartment building. Past that and then a pair of lefts and you will be in the fall back point alley" Daniel said calmly inside Blake's head.

"Ok well let's move" he said and made his way down the hall, checking the area out before his teammates made it there. That done, he then activated the lift and waited as the cool blue light appeared, then the three Green Team members dropped down the lift and then out of it before exiting through the door and then to right where they found another door, and half a dozen grunts.

Blake fired his assault rifle, which cut a few down while Jamie fired with his own assault rifle, unable to use his launcher while helping Jessica move. The two of them managed to take the squad down, but barely. They were tired and mentally shocked at all of their teammates deaths, and with Jessica in her current state, they were nearly at their breaking point.

"I'm gonna run ahead" Blake said before they could argue and then sprinted towards the door, which opened. He managed to knock the snot out of the jackal that had been sneaking up to it, before shooting it's brains out and then making his way down the small gloomy hall he was now in. "Amelia" Blake said over TEAMCOM, "Get to the apartment complex near the fall back point, we're gonna need an extra set of hands" he said before popping his gun up and ripping up the flesh and meat of a group of grunts as they rounded the corner. With the grunts down, he rounded the same corner and found that this hall was just as narrow and gloomy as the one he had just left. Maybe it was a theme. Did the galactic covenant actually have poverty?

Shaking the random thought from his head, Blake followed the hall until he came to a locked door. Odd. "Daniel" he said into his helmet. "I need this door opened" he said as the AI began to run a program to open it up. "Jamie" he said. "What's your sit rep?" he asked.

"Right on your ugly hide" Jamie said with a grunt as Jessica's vitals dropped a small amount. "We need to hurry, I think that plasma might have managed to burn a hole in her lung" he whispered.

"It was nowhere near her-"

"I am detecting a leak in Green eight's right lung" Daniel said as the door unlocked and slid open. Blake ignored him.

"Just get her to the fallback point, if Mac and Josh aren't there, we continue to the ship and get the heck out of here" he said. Then Blake ran through the doorway and found himself in a small, almost hexagonal, room and face to face with a pair of hunters. "Just my luck..." he muttered as the two behemoths opened fire with their laser cannons, sending two bolts of pure plasma at him. Blake jumped and twisted at the same time, managing to dodge the attack. As the rounds made confetti out of the wall behind him, Blake fired all his ammo up at the creatures, who simply shrugged it off and fired again. Blake jumped, only to catch a round in the side, which knocked the wind out of him and sent him into the wall with a grunt as his shield warning flared dangerously low.

Muttering something dark, Blake considered his options. He had no real weapons to use against the beasts and his grenades were nearly gone. He needed Jessica or Jamie, and both were still three or so minutes behind him. Three or so minutes he didn't have.

Then, all of a sudden, a sniper round tore through the door behind the creatures and bounced around the walls like some sort of odd art as it hit the Hunter's only unguarded part, their waists, over and over again. The round just slammed through, ricocheted off a wall and repeated the process. By the time the hunters dropped dead, the round had stopped and a form stood in the doorway, a sniper rifle casually held over one shoulder. "Miss me?" Amelia said with that flirty, cocky tone that she used only when she was teasing him.

Blake just held up a hand and Amelia pulled him up. "I should get paid for having to baby sit a baby, you know?" she said and Blake knew she was smiling as he simply grumbled.


End file.
